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WHILE Senator Christopher Go maintains delicadeza in public service by not interfering with transactions involving relatives or those seen with potential conflict of interest, he emphasized that he would not hesitate to file cases himself against anyone if warranted by any wrongdoing. He also stressed that he supports efforts to anomalous anomalous infrastructure projects as long as the truth prevails and no one must be above the law.

Speaking to reporters at the Senate on Thursday, October 16, Go addressed allegations linking his family to supposed irregularities in public works projects. He clarified that his father, who was once engaged in private construction, had already left the industry years ago.

‘Retired na po siya noon pang 2019,’ Go said, referring to his father. ‘Tinapos lang nila ang mga proyekto noon, pero hindi na ginagamit ang lisensya. Officially, around 2022 talagang sinara na.’

Go underscored that he has never intervened in any government project or benefited from any transactions involving his relatives.

‘Hindi po ako negosyante. Hindi ako contractor. Nag-trabaho lang po ako bilang senador,’ he explained.

‘Hindi ko ginamit ang posisyon ko para bigyan ng pabor ang kamag-anak ko. Wala akong kinalaman sa negosyo nila, at hindi rin ako nakinabang.’

He reiterated his readiness to cooperate with any investigation and even serve as a complainant if evidence warrants it.

‘Kung may kasalanan sila, ako mismo ang magpa-file ng kaso. Ako mismo ang complainant. Kung may pagkukulang o anomalya, panagutin,’ Go said.

The senator also remarked that no one can choose their family members, but accountability should always prevail. ‘Kung pwede lang pumili ng kamag-anak, papalitan ko na sana,’ he said. ‘Pero kahit sino pa sila, kung may kasalanan, kasuhan.’

Go concluded by urging authorities to remain focused on facts and the truth. ‘Ang importante, tumbukin natin ang katotohanan. Huwag ilihis ang isyu, huwag lokohin ang Pilipino,’ he appealed.

We issue this statement to reaffirm the integrity of our governance and the proven, data-driven success of our strategic direction. At the heart of our mandate is a fundamental fiduciary duty: to deliver maximum value and security to our 1.7 million members.

The current dissent arises from a difference in perspectives on investment strategy and governance philosophy. Our leadership operates on a principle of professional, evidence-based fund management. All investment decisions are made within the strictest procedural and legal frameworks, as mandated by Republic Act No. 8291.

Every investment is evaluated for its potential to generate optimal returns for our members. Our disciplined approach ensures that all placements are compliant, prudent, and fully aligned with our mission to grow and safeguard the fund. This process effectively invalidates any insinuation of mismanagement or financial loss.

We emphasize that the true measure of our stewardship lies not in anonymous allegations or personality-driven narratives, but in objective, verifiable performance. Our financial data provides clear, measurable evidence of the strength of our management and strategy.

As of August 2025, our performance metrics speak for themselves:

* Total Assets have grown to ?1.92 trillion, marking a significant expansion and underscoring our robust financial health.

* Net Income has reached ?100.02 billion, exceeding the period’s budget by 51% and surpassing prior year performance.

* Total Income stands at ?231.06 billion, outperforming both budget targets and the previous year, driven by strong premium contributions and investment returns.

* Fund Life remains securely extended to 2058, ensuring stability and security for future generations of civil servants.

These results are the direct outcome of a stability-focused strategy and expert asset management-delivered under the very leadership that is now being questioned.

Following his preventive suspension, our President and General Manager, Jose Arnulfo Veloso, has resumed his duties, ensuring continuity in the leadership that achieved this record-breaking performance. We respect and defer to the legal process, but our focus remains unwavering: serving our members.

Our mandate is to our members.

Our guide is verifiable data.

Our mission is to secure their future.

We remain focused, undeterred, and fully committed to this singular goal.

Many supposedly invincible leaders have been forced to flee their countries or have gone into hiding to avoid incarceration, execution, or political retaliation by successor governments due to revolutions, military coups or mass protests.

The most recent international leader to join the list is Andry Rajoelina, the president of Madagascar, who was overthrown in a military coup this week. His fall came after weeks of Gen Z-led demonstrations over hardship, lack of opportunities and power shortages in the Indian Ocean island nation.

Here’s a look at other leaders who have succumbed to a similar fate.

Bashar Assad

In 2024, former Syrian leader Bashar Assad fled to Russia as rebels advanced toward the capital Damascus to take over power after years of civil war.

As opposition forces swept across the country, Assad arrived in Moscow, bringing an end to 51 years of his family’s rule over the country. For years, Assad enjoyed backing from allies Russia and Iran, who supported him throughout a 13-year civil war against opposition forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin granted protection to him, his family and some associates, and has refused to extradited him to Syria.

Sheikh Hasina

In August 2024, Bangladesh’s longest-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, was forced to resign and flee the country after waves of protests managed to topple her government.

The U.N. human rights office estimates that as many as 1,400 people were killed when security forces cracked down on the student-led protests that lasted for weeks.

Hasina, who is still in exile in India, first became prime minister in 1996 and then returned in 2008 to win the office she held until her resignation.

Her father, Sheikh Mujib Rahman, was the first leader of an independent Bangladesh. He was assassinated in a military coup in 1975.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa

After months of protests over a devastating economic crisis, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country in July 2022 for the Maldives, only to return about two months later.

The South Asian island nation’s economic collapse left it short of cash to pay for food and fuel imports, put its debt in default, and forced people to queue for days for cooking gas and petrol.

Sri Lankans blamed Rajapaksa, who was part of a powerful family political dynasty, for the disaster.

He was forced to resign, along with his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa who was prime minister, and two other brothers and a nephew who served in his Cabinet.

Viktor Yanukovych

In February 2014, following a series of deadly protests, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the capital city of Kyiv and eventually reemerged in Russia.

The protests in Kyiv were sparked by Yanukovych’s shelving of an agreement with the European Union in November and turning instead for a $15 billion bailout loan from Russia. Yanukovych and opposition leaders would strike a deal aimed at bringing Ukraine’s political crisis to an end but he secretly fled the capital that evening.

Ukrainian MPs voted to impeach him and hold early presidential elections while an arrest warrant was issued for him following the protests which led to the deaths of dozens of civilians.

Putin and Yanukovych would later state that Russian forces helped Yanukovych fly to Russia via Crimea.

Moammar Gadhafi

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi lost his four-decade grip on power during the 2011 Libyan Civil War, which was part of the wider Arab Spring uprisings.

Rebel forces overthrew Gadhafi after capturing the capital city of Tripoli, forcing him to flee with a handful of loyalists. He hid for weeks amid a bloody siege by rebel forces in his hometown of Sirte, one of the last strongholds of loyalist resistance.

Gadhafi tried to flee the besieged city on Oct. 20, 2011, with a convoy of loyalist fighters, but they were dispersed after being struck by a NATO air attack. Opposition forces then located Gadhafi in a big drainage pipe and captured him.

Following his death, his body was on public display for a few days before being buried in a secluded desert site.

Marc Ravalomanana

Marc Ravalomanana served as Madagascar’s sixth president from 2002 to 2009 until he was overthrown by a military coup led by none other than Rajoelina, who was at the time the former mayor of Antananarivo, the capital.

Ravalomanana transferred his power to a military council and fled to South Africa.

The international community deemed it a coup and withdrew all but humanitarian aid.

Ravalomanana was later convicted in absentia of conspiracy to commit murder in a case related to the violence during his overthrow. He was sentenced to life in prison after a trial described as ‘unfair’ by Amnesty International.

After more than five years of exile, he returned to Madagascar and was arrested at his home. The following year, his sentence was lifted and he was freed from house arrest.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Former Haiti President Jean-Bertrand Aristide twice fled his country during military coups, the first one six months after he became the Caribbean island’s first democratically elected leader in 1991.

His reforms angered the military elite, and he fled to Venezuela when his government fell. He was reinstated to finish his term from 1994 to 1996 with help from the United States.

Aristide won election again in 2000 but by 2004 the country was in turmoil and he was forced to resign, with his administration facing popular rebellion.

Aristide fled for the second time, leaving Haiti in a U.S.-chartered plane to the Central African Republic and later settling in South Africa. He returned to Haiti in 2011.

GLOBAL fashion brand Fendi introduces Fendi 925, the house’s new men’s fashion jewelry line crafted entirely from sterling silver. Featured in the Fall/Winter 2025-26 centenary fashion show, the collection redefines men’s jewelry, offering bold, contemporary design inspired by the world of high-end gemstones.

With Fendi 925, artistic director of Jewelry Delfina Delettrez Fendi draws on her expertise in high jewelry and reimagines the allure of precious stones through the lens of sterling silver.

Inspired by the captivating cuts and settings typically reserved for diamonds and gems, the collection masterfully ‘Fendifies’ these signature forms onto a selection of pendant and chain necklaces and bracelets, band and signet rings and a mono earring. The classic diamond cut and refined bezel setting are reinterpreted and meticulously crafted entirely in sterling 925 with injections of the iconic FF logo, creating pieces that are both unexpected and quintessentially Fendi.

The result is a dynamic and attractive collection that elevates sterling silver into a testament of Fendi’s mastery in materials, sense of fun and innovative spirit. The collection is available beginning October in selected Fendi boutiques worldwide and on www.fendi.com.

WHILE Congress is still working on a measure to overhaul the Philippine Building Code (PBC), two lawmakers have voiced support for the plan of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) to update their two-decade-old study on the possible impact of ‘The Big One’-a major earthquake projected to strike Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

While extending their sympathies to the victims of the recent earthquakes that rocked Cebu, La Union, Davao Oriental, Zambales, Surigao del Sur, Southern Leyte, Iloilo, and Ilocos Norte, Camarines Sur Reps. Migz Villafuerte and Luigi Villafuerte threw their support behind the Phivolcs-Jica plan to update the Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study (MMEIRS), conducted in 2004 in collaboration with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol recently confirmed that the review of the Jica study on ‘The Big One’ will begin next year, noting that the West Valley Fault (WVF), which stretches about 100 kilometers across Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna, could trigger a catastrophic tremor similar to the 1976 Cotabato Trench earthquake that killed around 8,000 people.

Bacolcol also earlier warned that a potential movement in the Marikina Valley fault system could kill 50,000 people, injure 100,000 more, and damage over 10 percent of residential buildings in the capital region.

The Villafuertes in a statement said that the recent magnitude 6.9 earthquake in northern Cebu on September 30, which killed 76 people and injured more than 1,200 others, further underscores the urgency of revisiting the JICA study and passing a new building code. The tremor was traced to a newly discovered Bogo Bay Fault Line-the first major quake recorded in Cebu in 400 years.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the quake affected 128,294 families, or 457,554 individuals, and damaged over 18,000 houses in Central Visayas.

Following that incident, several other earthquakes struck Luzon and Mindanao, including La Union, Davao Oriental, Zambales, Surigao del Sur, Southern Leyte, Iloilo, and Ilocos Norte, further reinforcing the need for long-term measures to strengthen public safety and disaster resilience.

New building code

These incidents, according to the lawmakers, should serve as a catalyst for Congress to finally enact a new, climate-proof Philippine Building Code.

‘As we express our deepest sympathies for the victims of the recent earthquakes in various provinces from Cebu to Ilocos Norte, we hope this spate of tremors will give impetus to the Congress to act timely on a consolidated version of the House-approved bill in the 19th Congress meant to overhaul our Philippine Building Code [PBC], which was issued in 1997,’ the two lawmakers said in a joint statement.

‘Given the fast-evolving developments, including the emergence of the Philippines as one of the countries most vulnerable to the impact of natural disasters touched off by climate change, we need a new building code aligned with the most modern engineering standards and attuned to the worsening climate-induced environmental calamities,’ they added.

The PBC was established through President Decree (PD) No. 1096 that was issued in 1977 to set standards for the design, construction, and maintenance of structures in the country.

In the 20th Congress, Migz Villafuerte, along with Luigi Villafuerte and Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon and Camarines Sur Rep. Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata, introduced HB 2396, which proposes the New Philippine Building Act.

The proposed law aims to strengthen the country’s resilience against earthquakes, fires, floods, landslides, storms, and volcanic eruptions. It also recognizes the Philippines’ vulnerability, citing a global risk assessment that ranked the country first worldwide as the most disaster-prone nation with a Risk Index of 46.91 percent, significantly higher than its 2018 score of 26.70 percent.

The lawmakers also cited a joint review by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, which found that the Philippines must modernize its outdated building code to include design provisions for strong wind events, flooding, seismic isolation systems, and vernacular timber buildings.

HB 2396 also seeks to prepare the country for ‘The Big One.’ A counterpart measure is currently pending in the Senate.

THE state-run Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) reported that its net income as of August surged to over P100 billion, almost half of which came from investments.

According to the GSIS, its net income reached P100.02 billion as of the reference month; its fund’s total assets also climbed to a record P1.92 trillion.

GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso was quoted in a statement the agency issued over the weekend, this performance showed that members’ funds are secure and continuously growing.

GSIS financial records in August indicated that half of its total income now comes from investments.

‘This means that [the] GSIS is not only protecting our members’ contributions but also growing them through strategic and responsible investing,’ Veloso said through the statement. The GSIS noted that its ‘strong performance’ translates into benefits for its 1.7 million members and pensioners.

‘Behind every number are teachers and other government workers, whose trust we hold sacred,’ Veloso said. ‘We will continue to make every peso count and deliver true Ginhawa for All.’

‘Baseless’

MEANWHILE, the GSIS denied the circulating claim that the agency incurred P8.8 billion in losses, calling it a ‘baseless’ allegation.

‘The alleged ‘P8.8-billion loss’ is baseless. This number does not exist in any official financial records of GSIS,’ the agency said.

According to the GSIS, its investment process is ‘strict and careful,’ adding that each investment would undergo thorough scrutiny and risk assessment, and complies with all laws and regulations.

‘Our performance is stable and our funds are safe. Market fluctuations are normal, but our portfolio is designed for stability and long-term growth. Official figures prove this.’

The agency noted that its fund grew to P1.92 trilling as of August, from P1.53 trillion when it started in July 2022.

‘The proof of our financial health is our continuous and uninterrupted service. We continue to provide all benefits and loans to our members on time and without fail,’ read a statement the GSIS issued. ‘We will remain steadfast in our duty to maintain the integrity of the fund and ensure it is always strong and stable for future generations.’

INTERNATIONAL travelers to the Philippines continued to slip in the nine months to September this year, although balikbayans (homecoming Filipinos) helped cushion the arrivals from a bigger fall.

Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed 4.3 million foreign nationals arrived from January to September 2025, some 2.4 percent less than the same period last year. Of total arrivals, there were only 3.9 million foreign nationals, 3.5 percent less than last year’s 4.08 million, while overseas Filipinos reached 392,317, up 10.3 percent from the same period last year. Overseas Filipinos are defined as Philippine passport holders permanently residing abroad.

This developed as the DOT welcomed the rollout of the electronic visa (e-visa) scheme for Chinese nationals starting in November.

INTERNATIONAL travelers to the Philippines continued to slip in the nine months to September this year, although balikbayans (homecoming Filipinos) helped cushion the arrivals from a bigger fall.

Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed 4.3 million foreign nationals arrived from January to September 2025, some 2.4 percent less than the same period last year. Of total arrivals, there were only 3.9 million foreign nationals, 3.5 percent less than last year’s 4.08 million, while overseas Filipinos reached 392,317, up 10.3 percent from the same period last year. Overseas Filipinos are defined as Philippine passport holders permanently residing abroad.

This developed as the DOT welcomed the rollout of the electronic visa (e-visa) scheme for Chinese nationals starting in November.

Earlier, leaders of tourism stakeholders groups welcomed the development and expressed optimism that this will boost arrivals from China. But one also pointed out that this e-visa policy should be supported by timely marketing strategies.

DOT Undersecretary Verna Esmeralda C. Buensuceso also told the BusinessMirror that the agency has never stopped accrediting Chinese tour operators, to help facilitate the arrivals of tour groups from China. ‘Accreditation of tour operators is done jointly with the DFA. This is for those applying for tour visas. This is not covered by the e-visa system, so the application for tour visas continue through the Philippine foreign posts in China,’ she said.

Lifts from Japan, Australia

DOT officials have yet to say if the e-visa policy will encourage the agency to recalibrate anew its targets under the National Tourism Development Plan for 2023-2028. At a budget presentation prior to the e-visa for China announcement, Frasco told senators that the arrivals target for 2026 is 6.7 million, but failed to reveal this year’s target.

Meanwhile, of total arrivals, South Korea was still the top source market at 955,699 tourists, although this was 20.16 percent less than the same period in 2024. The United States followed at 743,998, which rose by 7.18 percent; Japan at 344,513 (+17.32 percent); Australia at 217,209 (+15.94 percent); China at 202,738 (-22.06 percent); and Canada 187,189 (+17.26 percent).

The other top source markets were: Taiwan at 149,959 (-11.53 percent); the United Kingdom at 126,301 (+7.61 percent); Singapore at 115,374 (-0.26 percent); Malaysia at 71,191 (-2.54 percent); India at 66,269 (+8.22 percent); and Germany at 59,240 (2.92 percent).

The DOT is also pinning its hopes on the Indian market, which was recently given visa-free status by Manila. Air India has started flying direct from New Delhi to India, although local carriers have yet to be roped into offering the new route. Last year, 70,286 tourists arrived from India, some 48 percent less than the 134,963 who arrived in prepandemic 2019.

The recent decision by the Office of the Ombudsman to reopen public access to the Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) of government officials marks a significant victory for transparency and accountability in our government. This move, reversing the restrictive policy under former Ombudsman Samuel Martires, rightly acknowledges that the Filipino people have an undeniable right to know how their public servants acquire and manage wealth. However, restoring access to SALNs, while commendable, should not be mistaken as the endpoint of transparency reforms. As highlighted by House Assistant Majority Leader Mark Anthony Santos, transparency should be a comprehensive, institutionalized practice-not a patchwork of isolated disclosures. The long-overdue Freedom of Information (FOI) bill remains the linchpin in this effort.

The FOI bill, pending in Congress for nearly 30 years, is the legal backbone that would empower citizens to scrutinize government operations beyond personal wealth declarations. It would mandate government agencies to release records, contracts, and transactions that reveal how public funds are spent and programs are executed. This is precisely the kind of openness needed to deter corruption, prevent abuses like the ghost projects scandal, and ensure that public servants are held accountable at every level.

The history of the FOI bill is a saga of delay and missed opportunities, despite its clear constitutional mandate under Article III, Section 7. The persistent lobbying by champions such as the late Rep. Ernesto Ruffa, Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III, and others shows the enduring demand for transparency among lawmakers themselves. The current iteration, supported by a broad coalition in both the House and Senate-including Sen. Francis Pangilinan and Senate President Vicente Sotto III-provides a real chance for passage.

The timing could not be more crucial. The Ombudsman’s transparency move, coupled with growing public outrage over corruption scandals, sets the perfect political climate for Congress to act decisively. Passing the FOI bill would institutionalize transparency as the norm rather than the exception and would complement the SALN disclosure policy by opening the floodgates to information on how government operates.

Moreover, transparency must be paired with accountability mechanisms. Calls for a strict ‘one-strike policy’ against corrupt officials in agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways are necessary corollaries. Transparency without enforcement risks becoming an empty gesture.

Reopening SALNs to public scrutiny is a welcome milestone but not the finish line. The real test of our government’s commitment to transparency and good governance lies in passing the FOI bill. It is time for Congress to fulfill its constitutional duty and the people’s right to know. Only then can we hope to restore genuine public trust and build a government that serves with integrity and openness.

Transparency is not a privilege but a right. The people deserve nothing less than full access to information that affects their lives and their future.

Setbacks caused by corruption allegations hounding flood control projects and other public infrastructure projects are temporary and will not derail the Philippines’s bid to achieve higher growth, according to the country’s socioeconomic planning chief.

Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said implementing reforms that will prevent future abuses will even bolster the country’s economy.

‘We believe that the setbacks are very temporary. I like that this happened because then we can do something about these issues so that the medium-term and long-term prospects of the economy will be even stronger,’ Balisacan told reporters on the sidelines of the EU-Philippines Business Dialogue last Thursday in Makati City.

As corruption is now being ‘openly discussed,’ Balisacan said, ‘We can put our house into better order. We can put reforms. We can get these institutional processes to address these issues so we establish a better foundation for long-term growth.’

Balisacan, however, acknowledged that the corruption scandal could affect investment and consumer sentiment.

‘[Also], the external environment for investment has continued to be muted. That’s experienced by many countries. All this uncertainty in the external environment is still there. It’s not as bad as we thought it would be six months ago. The world did not sink as we thought it would with all these Trump tariffs and uncertainty in the global markets,’ he said.

‘As I said, there are positive forces and negative forces. Hopefully, the positive forces will dominate,’ he added.

The corruption issues, he said, could also lead to a slowdown in luxury spending of local consumers.

‘I like that there is a slowdown in those areas [luxury goods] because these are very import dependent anyway. The value added is low,’ he said.

Patronizing local goods, Balisacan said, will be good for the economy. ‘It creates more economic activity. Luxury imports do not really generate economic activity.’

Rice tariff review

Meanwhile, Balisacan said the Cabinet-level Committee on Tariff and Related Matters is currently reviewing the petition of farmers to revert the tariff on imported rice to 35 percent.

‘We discussed the results of consultations and review of the Tariff Commission with respect to the petition of our rice farmers for a revert on the tariff from 15 percent to 35 percent. And we had a lot of discussions on pros and cons, what are the considerations that we have to look at,’ he said.

In assessing the petition, Balisacan said the committee will have to consider the farmgate price of rice as well as the accessibility of the staple to local consumers.

‘We are also concerned about the impact of high prices of rice on inflation, which can impact on our macroeconomic fundamentals,’ he said.

He cited an instance last year and the year prior when prices of rice ‘skyrocketed’ and inflation accelerated, which prompted the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to ‘jack up the policy rates.’

‘So, it really has an effect,’ Balisacan said.

At the same time, the DepDev chief said the government is also tuning into the recent developments such as world prices which ‘have come down sharply since then for rice by over 30 percent.’

‘Our farmers bore the burden of that. Farmgate prices have also come down so much,’ he added.

As such, Balisacan said the government needs to address ‘how we can provide and ensure that our farmers remain profitable in their enterprises.’

‘Rice farming in particular remains remunerative. So that’s a kind of discussion that’s happening, how we achieve all these three goals at the same time,’ he said. ‘Obviously, you need not just tariff as an instrument to achieve those goals, but you need other tools.

‘For example, directly subsidizing the price received by our farmers would be one such policy goal or instrument to ensure that the benefits of world prices and the tariff reduction are shared by everyone.and those benefits don’t arise at the expense of our farmers,’ he added.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will immediately fill nearly 2,000 vacant positions nationwide as part of efforts to accelerate infrastructure services, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said Monday.

During the flag raising ceremonies at the agency’s headquarters, Dizon said the job vacancies will provide opportunities for staff-level and job order employees to ‘advance’ in their careers within the government.

He said that current employees, especially those in the job order (JO) status, will be given priority consideration for the vacant positions.

‘We need to elevate deserving, honest, hardworking people here in DPWH, including job order employees. Just because you’ve been a JO for a very long time doesn’t mean you don’t have the right and opportunity to move up,’ Dizon said in Filipino. ‘You will be first in line for these nearly 2,000 vacancies all over the country.’

Job order employees, who typically work on a contractual basis without the benefits and security of regular government positions, have long advocated for regularization and career advancement opportunities within their respective agencies.

Dizon also promised to fix the disbursement of salaries and wages within the agency.

Furthermore, Dizon said that the agency will revive the Cadet Engineering Program, which was originally established by former Secretary Rogelio Singson in 2013.

He explained that the program’s return would be instrumental in encouraging young and newly graduated engineers to contribute to infrastructure development throughout the country.

‘This is excellent for bringing fresh blood into DPWH. new engineers who just passed, who are just starting to work. That’s why we’re reviving the Cadet Engineering Program,’ Dizon said.

The Cadet Engineering Program is designed to attract and train new engineering graduates, providing them with hands-on experience in public infrastructure projects.