Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

Better late than never.

After a slow start, Letran has lived up to pre-season hype, racking up four wins in a row including an 85-82 overtime victory over titleholder Mapua yesterday in NCAA Season 101 at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.

Jimboy Estrada and Titing Manalili came through in the clutch to help the Knights erase the stigma of a disappointing 0-3 start that cast doubts on their championship drive.

Estrada poured in five of his 20 points in OT while Manalili hit a pair of huge foul shots late in regulation to send the duel into extra time.

Manalili, a sensational rookie and product of Letran’s high school program, urged his team to stay grounded.

‘I kept reminding them that we may have won now, but this is done and we have to move on to our next opponent,’ said Manalili, who flirted with another triple-double effort with 14 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.

‘It doesn’t end here, this doesn’t decide if we will be champions,’ he added.

It was a heartbreaking defeat for the Cardinals, who had several opportunities to get the win.

Clint Escamis, on his final tour of duty before turning pro, missed a potential game-winning shot in the dying seconds of regulation and muffed two of three free throws in a crucial stretch in OT.

Mapua dropped to 3-3.

Following clamor for publicized hearings, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) will now livestream its proceedings.

ICI Chair Andres Reyes Jr., a former Supreme Court justice, made the announcement during a Senate hearing.

‘We will now go on livestream next week. Once we are able to have the technical capability with us already,’ Reyes said in his opening statement.

Reyes mentioned that the ICI is only 39 days old and is still in the process of building its staff. Several government agencies have already lent personnel and resources to support its work.

Sen. Kiko Pangilinan welcomed the ICI’s decision to livestream their hearings.

ICI member and former Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson described the scale of ongoing infrastructure corruption as ‘unbelievable.’ He added that upon analyzing where the system failed, he concluded that the issues were widespread.

The ICI’s authority is being questioned after the Discaya couple, implicated in the flood control mess, chose not to cooperate with the new anti-graft body.

Billions of pesos are believed to have been siphoned off in massive kickback schemes involving the DPWH, where funds are funneled through the national budget and into the pockets of officials.

Alex Eala absorbed yet another early exit, folding to lower-ranked and unseeded American foe Claire Liu, 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, in Round 1 of the WTA250 Guangzhou Open yesterday at the Nansha International Tennis Center in China.

Eala wasted a 4-2 lead in the second set for what’s supposed to be a sweep after taking the opener with ease, and that spelled doom for a bigger meltdown in the third set.

Seeded No. 4 and ranked No. 53 in the Women’s Tennis Association, the 20-year-old Filipina then relinquished another 3-1 gap in the third for the stinging defeat in two hours and 28 minutes.

Liu is ranked No. 305 in the world and had to go through the qualifying rounds before slaying the giant in Eala, who ascended as among today’s young tennis stars with a breakthrough WTA title in Mexico last month.

It’s the third straight early exit for Eala after also bowing in the qualifiers of the W100 Wuhan Open and the first round of the WTA250 Japan Open after consecutive deep runs in Latin America and China.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has tightened prudential regulations for Islamic banks and banking units to align their operations with international standards while allowing flexibility during the sector’s early growth stage.

Under Circular 1219, the Monetary Board approved on Oct. 9 amendments to several sections of the Manual of Regulations for Banks to refine licensing, liquidity and reporting requirements for Islamic banks (IBs) and Islamic banking units (IBUs).

The BSP said the revised framework seeks to ‘address the unique specificities of Islamic banking operations, the evolving landscape of liquidity risk management in the Islamic banking system and the limited availability of liquidity management instruments which are appropriate for IBs and IBUs.’

Applicants seeking to operate an IBU must now submit a detailed corporate plan describing their business model and delivery of Shari’ah-compliant products and services.

The establishment of an IBU will be treated as a Type A license, subject to applicable fees and the bank’s capitalization requirements. The authority to operate will be automatically revoked if business does not commence within one year from Monetary Board approval.

To improve industry monitoring, IBs and IBUs are required to submit prudential reports using existing financial reporting package templates, alongside a supplemental FRP report that reflects Islamic finance-specific accounts.

The BSP will observe a three-year transition period to allow new IBs and IBUs to adjust to data and system requirements before full implementation of the prudential reporting standards.

The circular also refines rules under the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) and net stable funding ratio (NSFR) to reflect Shari’ah-compliant instruments such as sukuk, which will now be treated as eligible liquid assets if they meet prudential criteria.

‘Debt instruments should be taken to include sukuk or the Islamic alternative to bonds,’ the BSP said, adding that those issued by the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp. and similar multilateral organizations may qualify as high-quality liquid assets.

IBs are expected to establish independent liquidity management frameworks, while IBUs must maintain segregated assets and liabilities from their parent conventional banks.

For conventional banks with IBUs, compliance with liquidity ratios such as the LCR, NSFR and minimum liquidity ratio will be determined on a consolidated basis. IBUs are not required to submit separate liquidity reports, but their transactions must be incorporated into the parent bank’s reports.

The BSP said it would maintain ‘an open line of communication with stakeholders to ensure that the regulatory framework remains appropriate and relevant.’

It added that given the Islamic banking market’s nascent stage, the central bank would adopt a flexible approach in enforcing compliance, especially in report submissions.

The new rules also clarify that only banks duly authorized by the BSP as full-fledged IBs may use and affix the term ‘Islamic bank’ in their business name.

IBs are likewise encouraged to take ‘necessary steps to have their shares of stock listed in any duly registered stock exchange,’ signaling support for greater market participation and transparency.

A newly created office under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has been tasked to monitor the country’s flood control projects since the corruption scandal erupted.

During the DENR’s budget hearing yesterday, Undersecretary Carlos Primo David said the agency’s work in monitoring the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control falls under the Water Resources Management Office.

The WRMO was created by President Marcos in 2023 to harmonize the government’s efforts in ensuring water sustainability.

‘Part of our work in the WRMO is to monitor the flood control projects of DPWH. This is the dashboard that we have created and our assessment of roughly around 4,000 flood control projects,’ David said.

The DENR uses satellite imagery in monitoring the flood control projects, especially those that have to do with water supply, he added.

The DENR-WRMO has also come up with its draft ‘National Flood Management Master Plan’ which focuses on mitigating floods with ‘nature-based’ infrastructure.

The DENR master plan has the following principles: watershed management by restoring forests and upland catchments to regulate runoff and reduce sedimentation; impounding storm water for irrigation, potable supply, hydropower and aquaculture; ‘green-grey infrastructure’ in downstream areas by combining engineered structures with natural systems like mangroves and wetlands to sustainably mitigate flood; preventing development in flood prone areas, and promoting ‘flood-compatible’ land uses in parks and agriculture.

DOH seeks additional funding

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) said it will ask for additional funds from the Department of Budget and Management to be able to continue its disaster response efforts.

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said that much of their budget for quick response during emergencies has been used up as a result of successive calamities and disasters this year.?

‘When we started this year, I know we had about a billion (pesos), and because of the several incidents wherein we poured in our response efforts, I asked and after the Bogo (Cebu) earthquake, we were left with only 100 million pesos,’ Herbosa said in a recent briefing.

He said additional budget is necessary for the DOH to be able to do its part in disaster response.

PAO budget hearing postponed

Meanwhile, the Senate deferred deliberations on the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO)’s proposed budget for next year after its chief, Persida Acosta, failed to attend the Department of Justice’s budget hearing on Monday due to an official overseas trip.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, finance committee chair, said the chamber has long required agency heads to personally present their budgets before the Senate.

‘As a matter of procedure and tradition, we always require the head of office to present their budget. This has been the practice for many, many years in budget briefings,’ Gatchalian said.

The senator said the rule is ‘very strictly observed’ in the Senate and that the PAO’s budget hearing will be rescheduled once Acosta is available.

Oil firm Pryce Corp. is setting aside around P6 billion to build three air separation facilities across the country in a bid to become the leading domestic industrial gas company.

In a regulatory filing yesterday, the company said its board of directors authorized the construction of new plants in Pangasinan, Bacolod and Davao, with completion targeted within three years.

With construction set to begin early next year, each air separation plant is estimated to cost around P2 billion.

‘This expansion directly supports (Pryce’s) goal of becoming the largest industrial gas company in the Philippines, a milestone the company aims to achieve within the same three-year timeframe,’ it said.

Pryce, through Pryce Gases Inc., currently operates an air separation plant in Mindanao, which separates atmospheric air into its main components to produce liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon.

The facility enables the company to manufacture and distribute industrial gases.

In the first nine months, Pryce saw its consolidated net income grow by 35 percent year-on-year to P2.99 billion, driven by higher sales volume of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and industrial gas.

Total revenues, on the other hand, improved to P16.97 billion from P15.01 billion.

Of the total revenues, LPG and industrial gases contributed the bulk or P15.49 billion, followed by real estate and memorial park operations (P279 million) and pharmaceutical products (P45 million).

The low-pressure area near Batanes and Taiwan has developed into a tropical depression named “Salome,” the state weather bureau PAGASA said.

According to PAGASA, as of 8 a.m. on Wednesday, October 22, Salome is estimated to be at 285 kilometers north northeast of Itbayat, Batanes.

It is moving south-southwest at 15 kilometers per hour (kph) with winds of up to 55 kph and gusts of up to 70 kph.

In a separate weather advisory, PAGASA said that Salome is expected to bring heavy rainfall to Batanes.

From Wednesday until noon on Thursday, October 23, Batanes is forecast to receive 50 to 100 millimeters of rain, with higher amounts possible in mountainous and elevated areas, according to the state weather bureau.

PAGASA urged the public and local disaster risk reduction offices to take necessary precautions to protect life and property, noting that antecedent rainfall may worsen impacts in some areas.

The Philippines has finalized a cooperation agreement with Japan to accelerate energy transition and advance climate change mitigation efforts.

The Department of Energy (DOE) signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to jointly address pressing energy and environmental issues.

The partnership is set to facilitate knowledge sharing, capacity building, joint pilot projects and policy talks on key areas, including renewable energy (RE), hydrogen, ammonia, energy storage, liquefied natural gas and carbon capture.

This is aligned with both countries’ goal of driving clean energy investments and supporting skills development in emerging energy industries, while contributing to global efforts to combat climate change.

According to the DOE, the agreement would take effect immediately and remain in force for a period of four years, subject to extension by mutual consent.

The Philippines’ Energy Policy and Planning Bureau and Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, meanwhile, will serve as the principal coordinating bodies for implementation.

‘This partnership with Japan is a long-term investment in a sustainable future. It reflects our unwavering commitment to addressing climate change and building a resilient energy sector that will power our economies for decades to come,’ Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said.

‘This is not just about reducing emissions; it’s about creating jobs, fostering innovation and improving the quality of life for our citizens. A sustainable energy sector is a foundation for a thriving economy and a healthy society,’ Garin added.

Under the Philippine Energy Plan, the government aims to expand the renewable electricity share to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040 from the current 22 percent.

The Philippines also commits to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent over the next five years.

The Philippines’ MOC with Japan was signed last week following the conclusion of the 43rd ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

DOE officials recently engaged in high-level discussions with their ASEAN counterparts and highlighted the Philippines’ progress in RE development, energy efficiency and household electrification.

This initiative reinforces the Philippines’ ongoing efforts as it prepares to assume the ASEAN chairmanship next year.

Seven people were injured after an acetylene tank exploded at a junk shop in Quezon City on Monday afternoon.

The explosion, which caused a fire at the junk shop along Mayon street in Barangay Sta. Teresita, occurred at 2:15 p.m., according to the Bureau of Fire Protection.

Barangay chairman Rogelio Lanuza said the victims were cutting metal using the acetylene tank when it exploded due to a leak.

The victims, whom arson probers did not identify, were rushed to a hospital for treatment of burns.

The fire reached the second alarm and was put out by firefighters at 4:45 p.m.

Forty-eight firetrucks and five ambulances responded. Damage to property was placed at P1.75 million.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson will reassume chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon committee to resume his flood control inquiry, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said yesterday.

‘Lacson will return as Blue Ribbon chair, 100 percent,’ Sotto told One PH.

Due to public clamor, Sotto said Lacson changed his mind about his resignation.

‘He still has unfinished business. The clamor for him to return, both by the public and our colleagues in the Senate, has apparently reached him. At this point, I think it’s a yes,’ he added.

Lacson will return to complement the probes initiated by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and Department of Justice, Sotto said.

A Senate caucus will be held after the Undas break to finalize Lacson’s return when session resumes on Nov. 10, he noted.

In his Oct. 7 resignation letter, Lacson said some of his colleagues were disappointed with the inquiry, which implicated senators and House lawmakers in alleged kickbacks in ghost or substandard flood control projects.

State officials, contractors and engineers have been implicated in anomalous infrastructure deals and budget insertions.