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The Ayala conglomerate will let go of its Honda dealership business after more than three decades as it shifts focus toward the rapidly growing electric vehicle (EV) market.

Ayala Corp. and Honda Cars Philippines Inc. jointly announced on Thursday the transfer of ACMobility’s operations of Honda dealerships across the country to ‘new dealer principals’ by Jan. 1.

ACMobility, through Iconic Dealership Inc., will continue operating Honda Cars Makati, Pasig, Shaw, Bacoor, Cebu, Mandaue, Iloilo, Negros and Cagayan de Oro until Dec. 31.

‘This transition reflects our ongoing effort to optimize our portfolio and focus on new growth areas,’ ACMobility CEO Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala said in a statement.

‘Among these are our initiatives in advancing sustainable mobility and electrification, where we continue to build solutions that benefit communities, businesses and the environment,’ Zobel added.

of an era

This is a pivotal move for ACMobility, which first partnered with Honda in 1990 with the opening of Honda Cars Makati.

Since then, ACMobility has sold over 220,000 Honda vehicles through the dealerships it operates.

In exiting the business after 35 years, Ayala said this would also allow Honda to pursue its own ‘growth and innovation strategies.’

The country’s oldest conglomerate clarified that the affected dealerships would directly contact customers with active reservations to guarantee deliveries. Scheduled service appointments will ‘proceed as planned.’

Remaining assets

Apart from Honda, ACMobility’s vehicle dealership portfolio is composed of Isuzu, BYD and Kia.

EVs have been Ayala’s new focus in recent years as the official distributor of the Chinese brand BYD in the Philippines, aiming to capture growing demand for modern cars.

Data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association show that car sales in the country increased by 1.6 percent to 269,207 units this year as of July.

EV unit sales totaled 16,195 during the period. Hybrid electric vehicles accounted for the biggest market share at 82 percent, representing 13,290 units.

Gig work, symbolized by on demand work and freelancing, has expanded rapidly worldwide. The convenience of being able to accept work with just a smartphone has provided many with flexible working arrangements.

Behind the surface, lurk issues such as unstable working conditions and exclusion from social security for gig workers. Gig workers are usually denied rights as regular employees. Consequently, they have been pushed outside the scope of basic protection offered by labor laws, including minimum wages, medical insurance, compensation for illness, and injury at the job.

A landmark development for such workers came on Sept. 9 when Malaysia’s Gig Workers Bill 2025 passed the country’s Senate (Dewan Negara). As the world’s first comprehensive protection bill directly targeting gig workers, it will impact over 1.2 million workers in Malaysia.

A move to significantly transform the state of gig work started in the United States and Europe. In the US, California Assembly Bill 5, effective from Jan. 1, 2020, made it easier for gig workers to be recognized as employees. Spain enacted a specific law: the ‘Rider Law’ (Royal Decree-Law 9/2021), effective from Aug. 12, 2021, made a legal presumption that food delivery riders are employees rather than self-employed.

Singapore’s Platform Workers Act, which came into force on Jan. 1, mandates gig workers to split social security contributions equally with the platform company, while expanding access to workers’ compensation and medical insurance.

Platform operators now bear responsibility for workplace safety. Systems for income protection and accident compensation have also been established. This formally incorporated gig workers into the mainstream labor protection mechanisms for the first time, having previously been excluded as self-employed individuals.

The approval of Malaysia’s Gig Workers Bill 2025 marks the beginning of substantive institutionalization of gig worker protection in Asia.

The provisions within this bill can be organized into four categories.

Firstly, provisions concerning service contracts. To enhance contract transparency, it is mandatory for contracts to clearly state the parties involved, duration, scope of work, remuneration, payment method, and rights and obligations.

Second, provisions concerning the rights of gig workers. Just cause is required for dismissal, and they are guaranteed the freedom to work across multiple platforms, the right to form, or join trade unions, as well as the provision of remuneration statements and mechanisms to prevent nonpayment.

Third, provisions concerning dispute resolution and tribunals. A three-tier structure is established: internal company grievance mechanisms, mediation, and swift, low-cost adjudication by the newly established Gig Workers Tribunal.

Fourth, provisions concerning councils, social security, and health and safety. The establishment of councils with equal employer and worker representation grants them the ability to propose minimum remuneration and system reforms.

Additionally, platform companies are obligated to contribute to the Social Security Organization, clearly ensuring their responsibility for occupational safety and health.

These provisions can be viewed as the ‘Malaysian hybrid model,’ positioned between the European Union’s Platform Work Directive and the employment reclassification model exemplified by the United Kingdom and Singapore’s social security extension model. However, this bill does not represent a complete victory for gig workers.

Major platform companies did not actively show their support for the bill, and the government, balancing economic growth with worker protection, accepted a compromise solution. While contract transparency and basic social security were achieved, official collective bargaining rights and full employment status were not included.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the initiatives in Singapore and Malaysia have opened new horizons for protecting gig workers in Asia. While imperfect and fluid, Malaysia’s model presents a realistic scenario for emerging economies to regulate platform labor.

Together with Singapore’s reform, Malaysia’s experience positions Asia as an active arena of regulatory experimentation, offering a hybrid approach that is neither a wholesale reclassification of employment nor a simple extension of social security.

As similar debates unfold in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia, these cases provide crucial comparative material and underscore the importance for policymakers in other emerging economies of combining worker mobilization, public discourse, and expert input to craft protections suited to local contexts. The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network

Yosuke Uchiyama is a research fellow at the Transportation Institute, Chulalongkorn University.

Authorities seized some P850 million worth of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) from a Chinese national and his Filipino driver during a buy-bust operation in Bugallon, Pangasinan, on Thursday afternoon.

The illegal drugs, weighing about 125 kilos, were packed in plastic tea bags and loaded inside a van.

In a statement, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said combined operatives from its Intelligence Service, PDEA Regional Office I-Pangasinan Provincial Office, and other law enforcement units staged the entrapment along Olongapo-Bugallon Road shortly after noon.

Arrested were high-value targets identified only as alias ‘Monkey,’ 40, a Chinese national from Paliparan 3, Cavite City, and alias ‘Gardo,’ 54, a resident of Mampang, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur.

Confiscated from the suspects were the Hyundai Starex van used in the operation, a mobile phone, and the marked buy-bust money.

The two will be charged with violating Section 5 (Sale of Dangerous Drugs) and Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs) under Article II of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. If convicted, they face life imprisonment and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P10 million.

The Pangasinan operation was conducted with the support of the Philippine National Police-Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG), the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Counterintelligence Group.

On the same day, a separate buy-bust in Barangay San Lorenzo, Bangui, Ilocos Norte, led to the arrest of another high-value drug target and her cohort.

PDEA Regional Office I director Atty. Benjamin G. Gaspi identified the suspects as alias ‘Jennifer,’ tagged as a high-value target, and alias ‘Edith,’ both residents of Barangay San Lorenzo.

Recovered from them were four sachets of suspected shabu weighing 1.02 grams, a coin purse, a sealing device, three mobile phones, two belt bags, a motorcycle with a sidecar, and the marked buy-bust money.

The Ilocos Norte operation was carried out by the PDEA Provincial Office and Bangui Municipal Police Station, with support from the Ilocos Norte Provincial Police Office-Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit, the Regional Intelligence Division PRO-1, and the Regional Intelligence Unit 1-Provincial Intelligence Team./coa

Police caught a businesswoman for allegedly selling non-food relief kits valued at P15.5 million and bearing the logo of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said.

The suspect was entrapped while selling 6,000 kits containing clothing for P2,588 each at a warehouse on Juan Luna Street in Barangay 56, Tondo, Manila, on Thursday night, according to CIDG public information chief Maj. Helen dela Cruz in an interview in Camp Crame on Friday.

‘You will see the DSWD logo there. The Bagong Pilipinas logo is there and, worse, you’ll see ‘not for sale’ there,’ CIDG National Capital Region chief Lt. Col. John Guiagui said in the interview.

Guiagui explained that the operation stemmed from a tip from a private informant, prompting them to coordinate with the DSWD.

‘They say they’re a supplier of the DSWD. They say it’s an excess supply. Nonetheless, they shouldn’t sell it. If they will sell it and it’s no longer the government’s property, it shouldn’t be packed with markings of the DSWD and ‘not for sale,” he added.

Guiagui further said the businesswoman told operatives that she had previously sold relief packs to a buyer, but they have yet to identify how much was sold and to whom.

‘They (suspect) say they can reproduce more,’ the CIDG NCR chief added.

Approached by reporters in Camp Crame, the arrested suspect declined to comment.

According to dela Cruz, the suspect faces charges for violating Section 19 (e) of Republic Act No. 10121 or the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, which prohibits ‘selling of relief goods, equipment or other aid commodities which are intended for distribution to disaster victims.’

The suspect also faces charges for violating Article 179 of the Revised Penal Code, which pertains to the illegal use of insignia, the CIDG public information chief further noted.

‘The items discovered during the entrapment operation. are in no way owned, operated or affiliated with the DSWD. No DSWD personnel were involved,’ dela Cruz claimed, citing a statement from the department.

‘The department expresses its full support for the ongoing investigation and is prepared to take all necessary legal actions against those found responsible,’ she added. /apl

Alex Eala bowed out of the Suzhou Open WTA 125 after losing to Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (0), in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Eala, seeded fourth in the tournament, blew match point in the third set before being blanked 7-0 in the tiebreak for another early exit in her Asian swing. The Filipino tennis ace, ranked No. 58 in the WTA, was coming off a semifinal finish in the Jingshan Tennis Open last weekend.

It was a frustrating loss for Eala, who won three straight games for a 6-5 edge in the decider and even reached match point at 40-15 before Golubic rallied to force the breaker.

Alex Eala exits in the quarterfinals of the Suzhou Open WTA 125 as Viktorija Golubic rallies for the 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (0) victory. Eala played all her matches in Suzhou in three sets. She beat Katarzyna Kawa in the round of 32, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, then survived a marathon three-hour battle against Belgium’s Greet Minnen, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 7-5, on Wednesday.

Eala has now reached the quarterfinals in all her campaigns since her Guadalajara Open 125 title last month, but has not advanced further.

Golubic, ranked No. 70 and seeded sixth in Suzhou, advances to the semifinals against No. 2 seed Tatjana Maria of Germany.

She tied the match against Eala with a strong second set, racing to a 4-0 lead before closing it out 6-2.

The Philippines cannot achieve food security, climate resilience, or inclusive development without radically rethinking how it treats its farmers.

For decades, agricultural policy has been fragmented, underfunded, and misaligned with the constitutional mandate to protect subsistence producers.

The devolution of the Department of Agriculture (DA) under the 1991 Local Government Code was intended to empower local governments. Instead, it hollowed out technical capacity, created fiscal disparities, and left farmers exposed to climate shocks, market failures, and institutional neglect.

Across rural barangays, the technical vacuum is staggering. In Northern Mindanao, there is only one Agricultural Extension Technician (AET) for every 150 barangays-far below the international standard of one technician per 1-2 barangays.

This gap undermines climate-resilient farming, pest management, and market access. Local governments, constrained by limited Internal Revenue Allotments (IRA), rely on Local Farmer Technicians (LFTs) who receive a mere ?4,000/month-hardly a substitute for a professionalized extension corps.

Global models offer a way forward. Vietnam and Ethiopia have re-centralized agricultural extension under national agencies while preserving local coordination.

These hybrid systems-where the national government provides personnel and training, and LGUs offer logistical support-have improved service quality and accountability.

The Philippines must learn from these successes and re-establish a centralized Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (DAFW) to ensure real-time deployment of technicians, centralized data systems, and integrated disaster response.

But this is not just a technical issue-it is a constitutional imperative. Article XIII, Section 5 of the 1987 Constitution mandates the State to ‘protect the rights of subsistence farmers and fisherfolk.’

Yet current arrangements focus narrowly on production, neglecting social protection, grievance redress, and income security.

Farmers face rising input costs, climate shocks, and market volatility without adequate safety nets. Fragmented systems failed to respond effectively to African Swine Fever and recurring typhoons. A re-nationalized DAFW would enable coordinated crisis response and uphold farmers’ rights.

The proposed DAFW bill introduces structural reforms that re-center farmer dignity, technical support, and agroecological transition.

It establishes Regional Agricultural Extension and Technical Support Units (RAETSU) and a National Agricultural Extension Corps (NAEC) to restore centralized, science-based extension services.

A Farmers’ Welfare Bureau (FWB) institutionalizes social protection-including insurance, pensions, and health coverage-while Farmers’ Councils at barangay to national levels embed participatory governance and budget oversight.

These reforms are not symbolic-they are systemic corrections to decades of exclusion.

Budgetary neglect compounds these structural failures. From 1985 to 2020, the DA’s share of the national budget declined from 3.57% to just 1.58%.

Even in 2020, amid food insecurity and climate shocks, agriculture received less than 2% of the national budget. In contrast, Malaysia and Thailand allocate nearly 3% or more, while Vietnam exceeds 4%. Bhutan (9.5%), India (6.9%), and Mali (7.8%) approximate the FAO-recommended 10% benchmark for agrarian economies.

South Korea, though allocating only 1.75%, compensates with high per capita spending-nearly $85-due to its smaller farming population and advanced agri-biotech investments.

Filipino farmers receive just ~$13.50 per capita-far less than their regional counterparts. Malaysia ($38.20), Thailand ($45.00), and Vietnam ($49.50) all outpace the Philippines, despite its greater vulnerability to climate shocks and land degradation.

This fiscal injustice undermines food sovereignty, climate adaptation, and rural justice.

To match Thailand’s and Vietnam’s per capita funding, the Philippines must raise its agricultural budget to ?296 billion and ?324 billion respectively-about double the 2026 proposal of ?176.7 billion.

This recalibration is not just about numbers-it is about justice. It means halting land use conversion of prime irrigated ricelands, tripling investments in irrigation and post-harvest infrastructure, expanding access to credit and insurance, and embedding parity funding in national development planning.

The DAFW also proposes a National Agroecology Transition Framework (NATF) and Agroecology Incentive Program (AIP) to shift farming systems toward climate resilience and biodiversity-based production.

Agroecology Transition Zones (ATZs) will be established in priority provinces, supported by decentralized grain silos, composting hubs, and farmer-led seed systems. These zones will serve as living laboratories for participatory research and convergence of support services from LGUs, SUCs, and civil society.

Palay farmgate prices-currently at ?8 -?13/kg-fall far below production costs of ?20-?22/kg, pushing farmers into chronic indebtedness.

The Rice Tariffication Law (RA 11203) dismantled the National Food Authority’s buffer stocking mandate, leaving farmers vulnerable to price shocks

We have proposed that RTL must be replaced also . The DAFW proposes restoring market stabilization mechanisms, including a ?100 billion annual procurement fund to buy 20% of national palay output and ?100 billion in warehouse infrastructure to anchor calibrated release and regional price floors.

These reforms are not abstract-they are rooted in constitutional mandates and SDG targets. They advance SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 8 (Decent Work), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

They position agriculture not as a relic of the past but as a driver of inclusive recovery and intergenerational renewal and food sovereignty.

Conclusion

Feeding the nation begins with restoring dignity, equity, and institutional support for the farmers who grow our food. The current system-fragmented, underfunded, and misaligned with constitutional mandates-must be overhauled..

The proposed Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (DAFW) offers a blueprint for structural reform: re-centralized extension, participatory governance, agroecological transition, and fiscal justice. These are not optional reforms-they are moral and strategic imperatives.

Recommendations

1. Establish the DAFW to centralize extension services, disaster response, and farmer protection.

2. Create RAETSU and NAEC to restore technical capacity and deploy trained personnel nationwide.

3. Institutionalize the Farmers’ Welfare Bureau (FWB) to deliver insurance, pensions, health coverage, and grievance redress.

4. Recalibrate the DA budget to ?296-?324 billion by 2026 to match regional peers and meet FAO benchmarks.

5. Launch the Agroecology Incentive Program (AIP) and designate ATZs to support climate-resilient farming and biodiversity-based production.

6. Restore market stabilization mechanisms by procuring 20% of palay output and investing in decentralized grain infrastructure.

7. Establish Farmers’ Councils at all levels to embed participatory governance and budget oversight.

8. Create a Special Fund for Agricultural Extension and Welfare (SFAEW) to ensure predictable, welfare-oriented financing.

9. Halt land use conversion of prime irrigated ricelands to protect food sovereignty and rural livelihoods.

10. Expand farmer access to credit, insurance, and digitaltools to build resilience and market inclusion.

(Teodoro ‘Ted’ C. Mendoza PhD is a retired professor and UP scientist of the Institute of Crop Sciences at the University of the Philippines Los Baños)

The 3rd to 5th floors of the Cadiz District Hospital in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, remain closed after glass windows were shattered during the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the Visayas on Tuesday night.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Girlie Pinongan said on Thursday that the broken windows pose safety risks and must be repaired before patients can return.

At the height of the quake, 113 patients were evacuated to the ground floor. About half of them have since been transferred to an adjacent facility, previously used as a COVID-19 isolation building, Pinongan added.

Meanwhile, the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City sustained minor cracks but was declared structurally safe. No other provincial government-owned hospitals in Negros Occidental reported damage.

Donato Sermeno, director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the Negros Island Region, said no significant structural damage was recorded in other buildings across the region.

He added that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology expects aftershocks to persist for at least a week. So far, 2,600 aftershocks have been recorded, ranging from magnitude 1 to 5./coa

Nicole Scherzinger could not hide her amazement at Palawan’s beauty and expressed how proud she is to have Filipino blood that connects her to such a place.

The Filipino American singer took to Instagram on Thursday, Oct. 2, to share a clip in which she is seen swimming through the island’s clear turquoise waters.

‘Imagine having blood that ties you to a place this breathtaking,’ she captioned the post, tagging it with #Philippines.

In the comments section, the global singer’s celebrity friends expressed how amazed they were by Scherzinger and Palawan’s ‘combined beauty.’

‘Unwritten’ hitmaker Natasha Bedingfield commented, ‘Wow,’ while Kakai Bautista wrote, ‘The Philippines love you.’

Scherzinger, whose father is Filipino and mother is Hawaiian, has long spoken about her pride in her roots.

In past interviews, the former Pussycat Dolls frontwoman said she considers her Filipino side an important part of her identity.

Last year, Scherzinger delighted fans when she casually broke into her hit ‘Hush Hush’ at a dinner, quipping, ‘Tell me you’re a Filipino without telling me you’re a Filipino.’

The 47-year-old performer and actress first made her mark in stardom as the lead vocalist of The Pussycat Dolls, behind chart-topping singles such as ‘Don’t Cha,’ ‘Stickwitu’ and ‘Buttons.’

In June this year, Scherzinger earned critical praise for her powerhouse performance as Norma Desmond in ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ which won her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The revival also bagged Best Musical Revival.

Scherzinger previously played Penny (originally played by Cynthia Rhodes) in the 2017 remake of ‘Dirty Dancing,’ the 1987 movie that starred Jennifer Grey and the late Patrick Swayze.

The Commission on Audit (COA) has submitted four new fraud audit reports to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to aid its investigation of anomalous flood control projects undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

This brings the COA’s total fraud audit reports to 17, nine of which were earlier submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman and four to the ICI.

The latest reports pertain to four fully paid flood control projects awarded to three contractors by the DPWH’s 1st District Engineering Office in Bulacan, which turned out to be either nonexistent or to have ‘mismatched’ locations.

Two projects by Syms Construction Trading involved flood control structures in Baliuag, worth P92.6 million, and along the Angat River in Pulilan, costing P92.7 million.

According to the COA’s field investigators, the inspection on Sept. 24 showed that there was no such structure that existed in the DPWH-approved location in Baliuag.

The first district engineering office ‘instead pinpointed’ to auditors a different location ‘but offered no explanation for the change.’

Location mismatch

‘Despite this, COA proceeded to inspect the site . where it found an existing structure that utterly failed to meet the project specifications,’ the COA said.

The auditors also noted that the district office also failed to submit a ‘significant number of critical support documents’ to the COA despite having ‘fully paid’ Syms Construction.

For the Pulilan flood control project, the COA said a separate inspection was conducted on Sept. 17.

‘While the pinpointed site and the approved project location are within the same general area, COA only saw an abandoned slope protection structure,’ the agency stressed. ‘Moreover, based on information available to COA, the structure already existed prior to the project’s start date.’

‘Again, COA underscores that this is another ghost project,’ it said.

Another company flagged by COA was Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc., which was involved in the construction of a riverbank protection structure in Barangay Bagong Silang in Plaridel with a contract cost of P69.4 million.

The inspection last Sept. 15 showed that this was yet another case of a ‘mismatched project site.’

‘At the original approved project site, COA did not find any flood control structure,’ the statement added. ‘While at the pinpointed location, COA found a flood control structure which falls short of the approved specifications.’

Corruption charges

The third company is Triple 8 Construction and Supply Inc., which was involved in the construction of a riverwall in Barangay Pagala in Baliuag with a contract cost of P96.4 million.

No flood control project was again seen at the approved location during the COA’s inspection last Sept. 23, according to state auditors, and at the pinpointed different location, the flood control structure ‘drastically falls short of the approved plan.’

Most of the DPWH officials tagged in the projects were district engineer Henry Alcantara; assistant district engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez; planning and design section chief Ernesto Galang; construction section chief Jaypee Mendoza; engineers Irene Otingco, Joshua Blitz Roxas, Bernardo Villafuerte, John Michael Ramos Raymond Tolentino, Lorenzo Pagtalunan, Elmer Arellano and Lemuel Ephraim Roque, and contractors Sally Santos (Syms Construction), Eumir Villanueva (Topnotch Catalyst) and Wilfredo Natividad (Triple 8), along with the latter company’s officers and board members.

‘The individuals involved may face charges for graft and corruption under Republic Act 3019 (anti-graft law), malversation and falsification of documents under the Revised Penal Code, as well as violations of COA Circular No. 2009-001 and the Government Procurement Reform Act,’ the COA said.

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) on Friday said it would go after the people behind ‘malicious’ claims online that the fact-finding body has tapped an anti-crime nongovernment organization in its probe into the massive corruption in government contracts for public works.

In a statement on Friday, the ICI said that the reports claiming that it has sought the help of Task Force Kasanag International, supposedly led by a certain John Chong, that have been making rounds on social media are misleading, ‘entirely untrue’ and are meant to ‘undermine’ the commission.

‘The ICI has not authorized, deputized, or engaged Task Force Kasanag International, or any group led by Mr. John Chiong, in any capacity related to its investigations,’ it said, stressing the ‘impartiality and professionalism’ the ICI observes in its work.

The investigating body, led by former Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes, Jr., said it would ask the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to find out the people responsible for the disinformation so that it could recommend the filing of appropriate criminal charges against them.

The ICI has been conducting closed-door hearings with key personalities to explain what went down in the budget process in previous years that could point to how massive funding for infrastructure, especially flood control, went to the pockets of colluding lawmakers, contractors and government officials.

On Thursday, the ICI formally called in Sen. Mark Villar to appear in the next ICI hearing on Oct. 7. ICI executive director Brian Hosaka has also said that former Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualde and resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Elizady Co, whose names have been dragged into the anomaly, would also be summoned to the hearings.