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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not want Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong to step down as special adviser to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), according to Malacañang.

In an interview on dzMM on Sunday, Palace press officer Claire Castro said the president asked for a review of Magalong’s appointment to the ICI not because of the mayor’s alleged connection to the questionable Baguio City projects linked to the contractor couple Pacifico ‘Curlee’ and Cezarah ‘Sarah’ Discaya, as he was insinuating.

‘The President’s directive was never meant to throw Mayor Magalong under the bus, but rather to clarify and address the issue of his dual role in the ICI,’ Castro noted.

According to Castro, Marcos originally intended Magalong to serve as both special adviser and investigator of the ICI. But since Magalong did not intend to resign as mayor, he could only serve as special adviser, as an additional role of adviser may compromise his responsibilities as the elected mayor of Baguio City.

The president also wanted to make sure that his appointment would not violate the ban on elected officials from serving in another public office, she said.

‘The concern was that if he continued to receive information or conduct investigations, his dual role at the ICI could be questioned, which may be against the Constitution and the Local Government Code,’ Castro explained.

‘That was all the legal team was supposed to review. Unfortunately, he immediately stepped down, which was not what the President intended,’ she added.

On Sept. 26, merely 13 days after he was appointed, Magalong submitted his resignation from the ICI following the press briefing of Castro, announcing that Marcos wanted his legal team to review the mayor’s role in the commission so as not to compromise the integrity of the fact-finding body.

He was replaced by another retired police general, former Philippine National Police chief Rodolfo Azurin.

At that point, he was still cordial, saying his exit was ‘not an easy choice, but necessary’ after questionable transactions in his city’s public works surfaced in the ICI ongoing probe.

According to the Baguio mayor, he would not ‘allow these doubts to weaken the ICI and its mandate,’ adding: ‘That is why I have chosen to step aside, not to abandon the fight (against corruption), but to protect the very integrity of the fight.’

Tennis court, parking building

Magalong’s name was dragged in the P110-million tennis court and parking building project awarded by the Baguio city government in 2022 to St. Gerrard Construction Company, one of the construction firms owned by the controversial Discayas.

He denied there was corruption in the bidding for the project, calling the insinuations ‘below the belt,’ and ordered a third-party audit to be conducted on all projects constructed by the Discayas in the city.

On Oct. 2, during a Senate hearing, Magalong said he was ‘eased out’ of the ICI after he ‘struck a nerve’ with his efforts to unmask those behind the multibillion-peso flood control scandal. He claimed that Castro appeared to be ‘taking orders from someone else,’ but declined to identify who that might be.

For her part, Castro maintained she was not the one who brought up the issue of the tennis court project.

‘We did not say anything negative about him, nor did we make any accusations of any anomaly. It’s up to him to respond regarding the tennis court issue, but we are not making any allegations against him,’ she said.

She also denied that the President or another official had instructed her to undermine his reputation.

‘I hope that before Mayor Magalong makes insinuations, he should be sure of his statements. He should not make claims unless he is certain and informed,’ Castro said.

Policy experts from the University of the Philippines (UP) are urging Congress to strip the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) of its disaster risk reduction (DRR) functions, citing the allegations of massive corruption hounding the agency.

In a policy note released on Friday, the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) called on lawmakers to ‘review the mandate of the DPWH, rightsize its operations, and transfer its DRR functions to a dedicated agency, such as the proposed Department of Water Resources, identified as a priority legislation by the President.’

‘The data presents an undeniable case: the DPWH bears a massive responsibility for disaster risk reduction, but it is constrained by a legacy structure that is not only insensitive to natural hazards, but also susceptible to corruption,’ they said. The DPWH is currently facing heightened scrutiny over anomalous public works projects that are either substandard or declared finished only on paper, their budgets milked for kickbacks under a scheme among its officials, private contractors, and lawmakers who maneuvered to have the projects funded.

An NCPAG analysis of the DPWH budget from 2023 to 2025 showed that the agency’s DRR-related allocations have consistently amounted to 70 percent to 80 percent of its total budget.

Roads as ‘flood interventions’

This, they said, included not only funding for the official flood management program but also its budget for roads, bridges, evacuation sites and operation centers.

The current budget framework for the DPWH has kept these different programs in different silos, the NCPAG said, thus ‘breeding inefficiencies and potential redundancies in implementation that ultimately weakens (our) long-term resilience.’

The experts took particular issue with the DPWH budget for road infrastructure, which they found to be the ‘single largest line item for flood mitigation (which) is not officially counted as such.’

A special provision in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) stipulates that all road projects must provide adequate drainage systems and must take into consideration the increase in the volume of rainfall-‘practically classifying all road projects as flood mitigation interventions,’ they noted.

In 2025, funding for the construction, repair and rehabilitation of roads reached P541.98 billion, or half of the DPWH’s entire 2011 budget and more than double the budget of the combined official and nonofficial flood control programs in 2024.

‘This means that DPWH has, for decades, executed the largest flood control projects in the country through its road programs. Unfortunately, this correlation is rarely looked into, if not, glossed over entirely in fiscal reporting and project monitoring and evaluation,’ the NCPAG said.

‘We’re kept in the dark’

Moreover, road projects ‘are not primarily evaluated on their flood control performance despite the presence of flood-specific guidelines and standards, making it extremely difficult to hold anyone accountable when drainage components do fail,’ they added.

The same goes for bridges, which are mandated by law to incorporate seismic standards and a core component of the government’s effort to reduce the impact of natural hazards.

But like flood control projects, funding for bridges are now spread across three programs: the official DPWH bridge program, the Convergence and Special Support Program, and foreign-assisted projects.

Evacuation centers

‘The resulting phenomenon is where we were kept in the dark. The DRR and climate change adaptation dimension of roads and bridges are obscured and concealed under generic headings of ‘roads’ and ‘bridges,’ misleading us into thinking that roads, bridges, and DRR-related projects are mutually exclusive priorities,’ they said.

‘Since roads and bridges are assessed mainly in terms of connectivity and mobility rather than on their resilience to disasters and climate change factors as should be intended, it understates the scale of actual government spending on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, skewing accountability,’ the NCPAG added.

Apart from hard infrastructure, the DPWH is also involved in the construction of evacuation centers and DRRM operations centers, which ‘has grown quickly’ under President Marcos’ term, they said.

In the 2025 national budget, the DPWH listed 1,869 evacuation centers and 158 operations centers with funding of P3.04 billion and P245 million, respectively. That translates to an average of about P3 million per evacuation center and P2.5 million per operations center.

Over the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, the agency earmarked a total of P7.7 billion for 2,535 evacuation centers and P423 million for 168 operations centers.

But while the number of projects for 2025 surged, the total budget of P3.28 billion did not rise proportionally. This suggests that the agency may be building smaller, lower-cost facilities-or ‘it could point to something else entirely,’ the NCPAG authors said.

Despite all this, they noted little improvement in disaster resilience, citing persistent flooding and high levels of infrastructure damage in provinces, such as Albay, Oriental Mindoro, Ilocos Norte and Cagayan-all areas that already host hundreds of flood control projects.

‘As the agency that has been receiving the highest funding for DRR in the past years, its investments in infrastructure are certainly suspect and wanting. Its flood control projects alone are supposed to abate damage, but with many of these projects being substandard, if existing at all, it is no wonder that the impact of flooding to communities remains high,’ they said.

Repeated pattern

In Albay alone, there been P16.2 billion spent on 273 flood control projects there since 2018. ‘Yet even with this investment, the province lost as much P7.3 billion in infrastructure damage across a six-year period (2017-2023), the highest in the country,’ the NCPAG noted.

This pattern, they added, ‘repeats across the entirety of the Philippines. Oriental Mindoro’s allotment of P11.3 billion across 138 flood control projects failed to avert P4.1-billion infrastructure-specific damage; not counting other losses in agriculture, human lives, and livelihood.’

That being said, they argued that the DPWH ‘cannot perform its DRR functions if it continues to be hampered by legacy structures that are not risk-sensitive and highly susceptible to corruption.’ The NCPAG policy note was authored by a group composed of Kristoffer Berse, Kim Robert de Leon, Micah Paula Milante, Francis Miguel Garcia, Mape Estellena, Olivia Bondad, Ramon Caballero, Maria Hontanosas, Eugene Beltran, Ajay Caingat, Leila Alejandria, John Coby Cabuhat, Thea Panares and Magjorie Avila.

Greg Slaughter expressed his desire to return to the PBA this season after entering into discussions with new team Titan Ultra, which inherited his rights from NorthPort.

‘If I’m being honest, yes. I do want to come back to play in the PBA,’ Slaughter said after attending Sunday’s Leo Awards at Novotel Manila and the opening ceremonies of the 50th season at Smart Araneta Coliseum. Slaughter has not played in the league since suiting up for NorthPort in the 2021 Philippine Cup, spending time instead in Japan and the MPBL. His most recent stint was with the Basilan Starhorse.

The 7-foot center said he has already spoken with Titan Ultra team manager Aldreine Anglim. ‘It’s just a little talk with him so far, but nothing sudden,’ he said.

A potential return could boost either the Giant Risers or other teams. It also sparks the possibility of reviving his on-court rivalry with good friend June Mar Fajardo, whom he has faced since their days in Cebu’s collegiate league Cesafi.

The 2017 Governors’ Cup Best Player of the Conference was among the guests at the PBA’s golden season opener, upon the invitation of commissioner Willie Marcial.

‘I know it’s really a big year for the PBA, so I thought it would be a nice thing to be here,’ Slaughter said.

The Philippines remains a rice-deficit country, importing 15-30% of its annual needs.

This dependency undermines sovereignty. No nation can claim autonomy if it cannot feed its people.

Rice, central to Filipino culture and nutrition, accounts for 45-70% of daily calorie intake. Yet, current production of 12.86 million metric tons (20.4 Mt unmilled) falls short of the 15 million Mt (24.0 Metric ton) demand. The main threat: depressed farm gate prices are pushing farmers to abandon rice cultivation.

Climate change worsens this crisis. Droughts, floods, and typhoons have disrupted rice yields globally and locally. This year 2025 alone, four typhoons struck during the early harvest schedule causing a 150,000 Mt loss, with El Niño adding 600,000 Mt more-totaling a 750,000 Mt loss. Oil prices at $95-$105/barrel have driven up fertilizer costs.

Producing ,packaging, transporting and distributing 1 kg of nitrogen requires 2.15 liters of diesel oil equivalent (LDOE). A ton of palay needs 18-20 kg of nitrogen, translating to 215 LDOE.

Fertilizer contributes 50-60% of yield. Farmers are cutting usage due to cost, and very low price of palay risking a 25-30% drop in output-up to 4.8 million tons lost across 4 million hectares harvest.

Rice importation is a stop-gap measure. In 2025, the Philippines imported 4.7 million Mt .

If China imports heavily, regional prices will surge. Domestic consumption estimates-119 kg per capita-must be refined. With 11 million Filipinos abroad and 7-10 million consuming corn, actual demand may be overstated. Our revised estimate: 100-110 kg per capita.

To achieve self-sufficiency, yields must increase from 4.0 to 5.5 tons/ha. Irrigated areas average 4.3 tons/ha; rain-fed areas, only 3.0.

With improved seeds and training, 8 tons/ha is possible-but soil health, water access, and input costs must be addressed.

Meeting the rice needs of 110 million Filipinos requires 24million tons of unmilled rice and 100 billion tons of water. Irrigating 500,000 ha would cost ?500 billion.

Land conversion worsens the crisis. About 500,000 ha of prime irrigated land have been lost to urban expansion equivalent to the 500,000 ha needed to be irrigated.

Watershed degradation has weakened irrigation systems. Retail rice prices range from ?35-?60/kg, while palay prices have plunged to ?8-?13/kg-far below the ?18-?22/kg break-even cost.

This disparity deepens farmer debt and reduces yields. The income loss exceeds ?250 billion-four times the damage from Super Typhoon Yolanda.

This is not just market failure; it’s a policy-induced disaster rooted in the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), which dismantled NFA’s market powers and exposed farmers to global shocks without safeguards.

What must be done? Guarantee a farmgate price of ?25-?28/kg to reflect rising input costs. Revisit agrarian reform-why was the 10 million ha target halved? Land ownership incentivizes soil fertility investment.

Provide seed and equipment support for diversified agriculture. Farmers must relearn propagation of bahay-kubo species and redesign farms for ecological resilience.

Promote agroecology and household agriculture. Idle spaces abound, and our climate is generous.

We must also diversify carbohydrate sources. Mix rice with 30% white corn-we produce 7 million MT of corn, mostly yellow. A shift to white corn in irrigated lowlands could triple service areas.

Promote brown rice and increase vegetable intake. Filipinos consume only 40 kg per capita, far below the recommended 120 kg. The Chinese eat 225 kg.

Vegetables offer vital nutrients, fiber, and carbohydrates. Mixing 50% brown rice with well-milled rice can reduce consumption by 30-40%. Rice is more than food. It is sovereignty, livelihood, and climate resilience. We must act now.

Almost 6,000 people across four regions have been affected by Tropical Cyclone Paolo, (international name: Matmo) the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Saturday, with affected families numbering 1,833 or 5,979 individuals, across 10 provinces.

A total of 3,368 residents from Regions 1 and 3 were preemptively evacuated before the typhoon intensified, while 4,4317 people remain displaced. Of this number, many are staying in 74 evacuation centers, while others are sheltering outside designated facilities.

Paolo, which developed into a typhoon earlier this week, brought rains and strong winds over parts of northern and Central Luzon. The cyclone has since exited the Philippine landmass after crossing the country’s northern areas. The NDRRMC continues to monitor affected communities for damage assessment and assistance to displaced families.

Paolo is moving west-northwest toward southern China after exiting the Philippine area of responsibility, the state weather bureau said on Saturday.

In its 11 a.m. advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) lifted all the tropical wind signal advisories. However, they said Paolo’s outer rain bands may still bring storm to gale-force gusts over Batanes, northern Cagayan, including Babuyan Islands, Apayao, Zambales and Bataan.

Pagasa located Paolo’s center at 440 kilometers west of Sinait, Ilocos Sur. It retained its momentum, packing maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour near the center, gusts of up to 135 kph, and was moving west-northwest at 20 kph.

Paolo may re-intensify into a typhoon while moving over the West Philippine Sea.

Meantime, the European Union (EU) released pound 800,000, or an estimated P54,380,800, in humanitarian aid to support relief operations for communities struck by recent cyclones and floods in the Philippines.

For relief assistance

In their official statement released on Friday, the EU announced that the funds will be directed toward emergency assistance.

‘The funding will help address the most urgent needs of people in the hardest hit areas, including communities that are also affected by conflict,’ the EU said.

‘This allocation will be used to provide emergency relief in areas such as shelter, health, and water and sanitation,’ they added.

This latest contribution builds on the pound 6.5 million (an estimated P441,800,000) in humanitarian aid and disaster preparedness funding the EU has already provided to the Philippines this year.

That amount includes pound 500,000 (or almost P34,000,000) earmarked in July following an earlier string of tropical cyclones.

The EU delegation to the Philippines said it is also monitoring the aftermath of the Sept. 30 earthquake in Cebu.

‘The EU expresses its condolences to the families of the victims and stands ready to provide additional support pending on-going needs assessment,’ they said.

Volleyball player Risa Sato is expecting her first child.

The Chery Tiggo middle blocker made the announcement on her 31st birthday on Friday, sharing the news through an Instagram post.

‘Best birthday yet! Grateful for the tiny miracle that makes my heart so full,’ Sato said. Sato posted photos of herself showing a baby bump along with an ultrasound and baby clothes. She also included a picture with her partner, basketball player Enzo Joson-also a former National University standout who now plays in the MPBL.

She received congratulatory messages from fellow PVL players as well as her former and current teammates. Sato has been on an extended absence for a few months after joining the Crossovers in January. She did not suit up in the Invitational and On Tour tournaments.

The Filipino-Japanese middle blocker is expected to miss more months as she awaits the arrival of her baby.

Before switching teams, Sato won 10 titles with the Creamline Cool Smashers.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Cayetano said: ‘What if we all just resign and allow a snap election from the president, vice president, senate, and congress, with one important addition – no incumbent from the above can run for one election cycle.’

Cayetano suggested this while stating that Filipinos ‘have lost trust in government and government officials.’ He even affirmed this, saying ‘politicians are suspects.’

The senator also stated that public officials shouldn’t be afraid of stepping down.

‘If we truly serve them, then starting over shouldn’t scare us. Because real change starts with radical honesty – and the courage to admit when it’s time to step aside,’ Cayetano continued. A series of anti-corruption protests has ensued since the beginning of September due to the revelations that several government officials are allegedly involved in the supposed flood-control project anomalies.

‘National government has its bureaucracy and will continue to run. Governors, mayors and barangay chairpersons are generally trusted and will be in place,’ Cayetano added.

‘No drama, no excuses, no recycling. Just a clean slate for the Filipino people. A turning point leading to renewal and revival. Instead of People Power. Sacrifice from People’s Servants!’ he said.

Among the government officials accused in the flood-control controversy are executives from government agencies, members of the House and the Senate.

Amidst these conversations, several changes in the legislative branch have also occurred.

Former Senate President Francis Escudero was replaced by Senator Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III, shortly after Escudero was accused of allegedly receiving ‘kickbacks’ from the government-funded flood-control projects.

Later, Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez stepped down after being linked to the same controversies, stating that he did not want to stain the name of the president, and was shortly replaced by Isabela 6th District Representative Faustino ‘Bojie’ De Guzman Dy III.

Former Ako-Bicol Partylist Rep. Elizaldy ‘Zaldy’ Co also resigned from the Congress after being tagged as the ‘mastermind’ behind the substandard or ‘ghost’ flood-control projects. Among the executive departments, the secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Manuel ‘Manny’ Bonoan resigned in the middle of the investigations into the government agency.

For World Teachers’ Day, teachers and education advocates called on the government to ensure teachers’ welfare and transparency in budgeting and accountability as they denounced the impacts of corruption on the education system.

In a press conference organized by E-Net Philippines, a non-government organization engaged in policy advocacy for education reforms, teachers slammed corruption in infrastructure projects in the country, emphasizing that while they struggle with delayed salaries and benefits, billions of pesos are allocated to ‘ghost’ flood control projects.

‘The ghost, substandard, and poorly built flood control projects have caused massive flooding in communities, forcing students and their families to leave their homes. This may be one reason why nearly a million children were unable to enroll, according to DepEd [Department of Education],’ Prof. Flora Arellano, president of E-Net Philippines, said in a statement on Sunday. Arellano also said that the education sector is not spared from corruption, as the DepEd previously reported that over 1,000 classrooms built by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) were turned over despite being ‘incomplete.’

Education Secretary Sonny Angara then estimated that the classrooms cost between P2.5 and P3.7 million. He noted that while the funding for their construction was under the DepEd’s budget, it was the DPWH that bid out the projects to contractors.

Aside from this, the teachers questioned the use of Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) funds for its alleged investment in online gambling and overpriced laptops. Sen. Risa Hontiveros previously said that the GSIS invested P1 billion of its funds in online gambling platform DigiPlus. She then questioned why the GSIS is using public funds as a capital for gambling.

With this, the E-Net Philippines called on the government to heed their demands:

Full implementation of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, which includes hazard pay, hardship allowance, and medical benefits;

Salary upgrading and timely release of teachers’ benefits nationwide;

Audit and reform of DPWH’s infrastructure contracts and the suspension of classroom turnover until they are fully compliant;

Transparent budgeting and public accountability to ensure citizens’ access to monitoring of contracts, project status, and budget;

Protection of GSIS fund and redirection of public money to teachers’ welfare and education needs;

Safe, inclusive, and adequately-funded classrooms, especially for the alternative learning system, special education program, Madrasah, and indigenous peoples’ education; and

Commitment from DepEd leadership to work with teachers’ groups in enacting education reforms.

Far Eastern University finally barged into the win column at the expense of Adamson, 64-58, in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament on Sunday.

Mo Konateh dominated in the paint to power the Tamaraws with a monster double-double of 18 points and 21 rebounds, while Kirby Mongcopa added 15 points. Janrey Pasaol turned in another all-around performance with 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

This time, though, his efforts didn’t go to waste as the Tamaraws chalked up their first victory after a 0-3 start.

‘I only got this kind of confidence from him (coach Sean Chambers) throughout my career,’ Pasaol said in Filipino at Mall of Asia Arena. ‘I’ve been trying to repay his trust in our practices so it’s good that I got to do it in the game,’ he added.

Monty Montebon was the sole double-digit scorer for the Falcons, who slid to 1-3, with 14 points that went with seven rebounds.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Sunday said he is considering stepping down from his post as chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee (BRC).

‘If my colleagues are no longer trusting me enough and they are not happy anymore with my handling of the blue ribbon committee, I’ve already thought of stepping down as an option,’ Lacson said in an interview with radio dzBB.

He noted the sentiments expressed by some of his colleagues in the upper chamber as the main reason.

‘All chairpersons of the committee in the Senate or in the House, we serve at the pleasure of our peers, because we were elected by our peers, particular members of the majority bloc. There were disappointments expressed by my colleagues in the Senate. We heard Sen. JV (Ejercito), also Sen. Sherwin (Gatchalian) has also expressed his sentiments,’ he said.

‘I’m not serving as chair of the blue ribbon committee at the pleasure of the president of the Philippines, at the pleasure of netizens, at the pleasure of bashers, not even at the pleasure of the public. I serve at the pleasure of my peers,’ he added.

‘One of the considerations is to move on or submit a resignation as chair of the blue ribbon committee and they just look for whoever can take over my place,’ said Lacson.

According to him, he is now crafting a letter for Senate President Vicente Sotto III regarding his intention. The Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on alleged flood control anomalies set for next week has been cancelled ‘until further notice.’ According to Lacson, he initially scheduled a hearing on Wednesday, October 8, upon the request of Sen. JV Ejercito to summon former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Mimaropa regional director Gerald Pacanan.

Pacanan was included among 10 DPWH officials who received a show-cause order from Secretary Vince Dizon to explain their reported lavish lifestyle and involvement in substandard projects.

‘To maximize the discussions, I checked with the DOJ if the supposed ‘tell-all’ affidavit/s of the Discayas were already available. Corollary to that, I also checked with the office of the executive judge of Manila [Regional Trial Court] if they have concluded the investigation on the possible violations of the notarized document involving TSgt Guteza and Atty Espera,’ Lacson likewise said in the message om Saturday.

Lawyer Petchie Espera denied notarizing an affidavit submitted by Orly Guteza, a former aide of Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co. Guteza, presented as a surprise witness in the Senate blue ribbon panel hearings, alleged that he delivered cash to the homes of certain lawmakers.

The senator said both of the affidavits and the notarized document would not be ready within a week. ‘Having been informed that both would not be ready within one week, not to mention that the BRC hearing will conflict with the budget and [Commission on Appointment] hearings, I informed SP Sotto of the cancellation until further notice,’ said Lacson. /