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The Bangsamoro government and local officials in Lamitan City separately sent approximately 20 tons of relief supplies to Cebu for distribution to tremor-stricken communities across the province.

Radio reports in Cotabato City on Monday, October 6, stated that the Bangsamoro government, along with the Tactical Operation Group 12 (TOG 12) of the Philippine Air Force in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, facilitated the airlift to Cebu last weekend of 445 bags of plasma from the Cotabato Regional Medical Center, along with modular tents, hygiene and sleeping kits and water containers for villagers displaced by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that struck the province last September 30.

The office of BARMM’s chief minister, Abdulrauf Macacua, the TOG 12, the Office of Civil Defense-BARMM, the Ministry of Social Services and Development-BARMM and the Bangsamoro Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence cooperated in transporting the relief supplies to Cebu using an Air Force plane.

Macacua, figurehead of the 80-seat BARMM parliament, said on Monday that he is thankful to the TOG 12 of the Philippine Air Force for the prompt airlift to Cebu of the relief supplies from the agencies of the Bangsamoro regional government.

Residents of Lamitan City and their local government unit also shipped last weekend 10 tons of relief supplies to Cebu for distribution to tremor-stricken residents in the northern part of the province.

More than 60 villagers died from injuries due to the collapse of structures and stampedes caused by the earthquake that jolted the province.

‘We, Lamiteños, stand along with our compatriot-Filipinos and the foreigners who suffered a lot from the earthquake that struck Cebu province. We wish for their recovery from that calamity,’ Lamitan City Mayor Roderick Furigay told reporters on Monday.

Dottie Ardina closed out her Epson Tour season with a blistering start and a solid finish, firing a bogey-free 65 to secure a share of 24th place in the Epson Tour Championship in Indian Wells, California, on Sunday (Monday Manila time).

Despite her strong final-round performance, the ICTSI-backed Ardina’s 12-under-par 276 total was only enough to lift her to 45th in the season-long Race for the Card, falling short of LPGA qualification.

The spotlight, however, belonged to Anne Chen, who delivered a thrilling finale to the season-ending tournament. The former Duke standout fired a final-round 65 to tie Sophia Schubert, who carded a 66, at 22-under-par 266, forcing a playoff.

Chen, who had led after the second round, battled nerves and fatigue in a grueling five-hole playoff. After the pair traded pars in the first two extra holes, Chen salvaged par on the third playoff hole with a clutch long-range putt following a poor bunker shot.

Both players birdied the par-5 13th in the fourth extra hole – Chen reaching the green in two and Schubert getting up-and-down to match. The duel came to an end on the fifth playoff hole when Schubert missed the green and failed to save par, allowing Chen to seal the win with a routine par.

The win marked Chen’s first career Epson Tour victory and, more significantly, secured her LPGA Tour card for the 2026 season. Her late-season surge lifted her to 11th in the Race for the Card, joining the Top 15 who earned LPGA status.

‘It’s a crazy feeling. A very crazy feeling. I can’t believe it. I do not think it has sunk in yet,’ said Chen, visibly emotional after her breakthrough win. ‘I am sure that it is something everyone says, but it really hasn’t. Definitely going to think about it a lot tonight.’

Among other Filipinas, Clariss Guce, a two-time Epson Tour winner, finished the season at No. 37 after shooting a 69 for a tie for 38th at 279.

Sam Bruce, meanwhile, posted a 73 to close with a 285 and a share of 58th.

Yana Wilson, who surged into contention after a standout third round, faltered under final-round pressure and settled for a tie for ninth at 272. Still, the rookie capped a successful debut season by securing an LPGA card with a second-place finish in the Race for the Card, behind top-ranked Melanie Green.

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 7:11 p.m.) – Several ten-wheeler trucks were caught on the three-decade old Piggatan Bridge in Alcala, Cagayan when it collapsed on Monday afternoon, October 6, the Cagayan Provincial Information Office reported.

The collapse reportedly occurred around 5:30 p.m., just as many people were heading home from work.

Piggatan Bridge fell as an 18-wheeler trailer truck loaded with palay was crossing.

No injuries have been reported so far as authorities responded to the scene.

The Piggatan Bridge connects the northern barangays of Alcala to the town center and main highways leading to Tuguegarao City.

Following the collapse, motorists are now forced to take a much longer route through Gattaran, Baggao, or Peñablanca-routes that, according to authorities, could add several hours to travel time.

Police have stated that the collapse will be investigated, as there is no clear indication yet of whether the bridge had sustained prior damage or if the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) recently assessed its integrity.

The bridge remains off-limits to vehicles while authorities evaluate the extent of the damage.

After a one-year hiatus, the Ironman 70.3 Davao is set not just for a comeback, but for an explosive return to the global triathlon scene as it kickstarts the 2026 season on March 22 with its milestone fifth staging.

This edition promises to be its most spectacular yet, cementing its place as the yardstick for Ironman 70.3 races in the Philippines and Asia-Pacific.

‘Ironman 70.3 Davao has evolved into more than just a race. It is a celebration of athletic excellence, cultural pride and community spirit,’ said Princess Galura, president and general manager of the organizing Sunrise Events, Inc. during the official launch.

The landmark event will set a new benchmark in endurance sports with an expected huge international turnout, a refined world-class course, and a festival atmosphere that only Davao can deliver.

It’s been the rising refrain of some friends in media, academia and the coffeeshop crowd – mostly somewhat to my left – to insist (and, I believe, reasonably so) that there is nothing fundamentally different between BBM and Sara, between the families and factions of the ruling class they represent, and between their lust for power and money. Therefore, the correct call to the people in this situation, regardless of the consequences, can only be ‘Down with both of them! BBM and Sara, resign!’ Those Latinate lawyers had a term for it: ‘fiat justitia, ruat caelum’ – let justice be done, though the heavens may fall.

For the plotters of a recently rumored coup, the heavens falling would have meant the replacement of both Marcos and Duterte with a 30-person junta that would include, as juntas go, retired military generals, civilian leaders and a couple of clergymen. (What, no writers and artists? Thumbs down!) That plot was dead even before it got off the ground, and perhaps thankfully so – a 30-person junta already sounds worse than a 24-person Senate, and something in me resists the idea of having Catholic priests (or Protestant pastors or Muslim imams, etc.) in any kind of executive capacity in government.

Yes, the people are marching in the streets and are in the mood for the public execution of their plunderers. Our trust and confidence in our leaders have been so badly abused and misplaced that we are now drowning in cynicism and disbelief, certain only in the fact that we are being stolen from by someone, somewhere, somehow.

Nevertheless I sense no great appetite for a revolutionary regime change that will only unsettle things even more. If anything, what we want is certainty and predictability – that the law will be applied and take its course, that the wrongdoers will be identified, prosecuted and punished, and that proper and ample restitution will be made for their crimes, so that we can all move along as a reasonably functioning society.

Not to say that everything will be just peachy once the robber-contractors and their patrons are exposed and put in chains, but that the alert will have been sounded, the people awakened and the bar raised much higher for aspirants to public office in 2028 and beyond. The progressives and middle forces couldn’t have been handed a greater gift: corruption has to be the top election issue, because it affects the poor more visibly now than any other, especially those who can’t escape the floodwaters while their congressman jets off to France.

It’s a problem and a crisis big enough for another EDSA (not to mention all the coup attempts that followed EDSA), but the first EDSA taught us that a sudden change of people at the top, no matter how good the replacements are, doesn’t guarantee deep and lasting change; it merely opens the door for a new set of crooks to come in, and for some old ones to return. EDSA 1 wasn’t a waste; aside from the relief it brought, it was a lesson we needed badly to learn. But have we?

Until our electorate learns to recognize and to vote for its own best interests, no amount of EDSAs short of the bloody revolution and the mass guillotining we’re all trying to avoid will change the composition of the Congress, the Senate and the executives they work with. The current crisis is the best and also the most painful teaching point to have come along to show Filipinos who and what exactly they’ve been voting for, and who’s been paying for all those dole-outs come Election Day – no other than themselves, from the money that should have been spent on keeping them alive and well. Vote for the corrupt, and you kill yourself and your family. You are being bribed today to be stolen from tomorrow.

The challenge now is to get that message through, make it stick and not allow it to be muddled by clever counter-propaganda and by possibly well-meant but adventurous calls for regime change.

Coup or resignation, neither nor both of these will happen. The coup was stillborn and could have led to worse. If the Marcoses and Dutertes are as thick-skinned as their critics make them out to be, then they will brazen it out, ruat caelum.

The way forward can be lit up by the facts that will emerge out of the many parallel investigations now taking place into the infrastructure scam and wheresoever it may lead – not just at the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, but also in the even more independent media.

The enemies of the truth know how easy it is not just to distort the truth, but to destroy the truth-sayers. They did it to Leila de Lima with the sordid exposé of a private relationship that, even if it were true, was her own business. They put NBN-ZTE whistleblower Jun Lozada behind bars.

Unlike many others, I am willing to let the albeit imperfectly constituted ICI do its work – but quickly and transparently, please – and to judge it by its results. We can expect that no one facing the ICI will come clean with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We will be dealing instead with a complex puzzle, putting it together piece by irregular piece until the broad and inescapable picture of systemic corruption emerges, with every part and element detailed – from delivery boys and drivers to district engineers to Cabinet-level officials to congressmen, senators and ultimately to the highest offices of the land.

The Vice President is already involved – it was the corruption in her office, after all, that led to her impeachment in Congress. Inevitably this circuit of corruption will come around to the Office of the President and to its signing power over whatever budget proposal it receives and presumably reviews; the only question will be that of BBM’s personal culpability and what of it, if any, can be proven.

That could yet be the ultimate test of BBM himself, of our democracy and of whether, after all’s been said and done, it may be time for another regime change outside of the ballot box; fiat justitia, ruat caelum.

Despite several challenges to the ongoing proceedings, a deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) expects the case against former president Rodrigo Duterte to proceed to confirmation hearings ‘sooner than previous cases.’

Although the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I postponed Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing originally scheduled on Sept. 23, ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang is expecting it to push through in the coming months.

‘It is likely that this case will still proceed to the hearing on the confirmation of charges sooner than previous cases before this Court,’ Niang wrote in a filing dated Sept. 29.

He provided reasons for this projection, but these details were redacted in the public version of the filing.

The ICC deputy prosecutor cited two cases wherein the confirmation of charges hearing took about a year since the first appearance hearings of the suspects.

Duterte’s first appearance before the tribunal was on March 14, days after he was arrested in the Philippines and turned over to the ICC. He has been detained at the ICC Detention Center in The Hague.

Niang was responding to the defense’s recent assertion that Duterte should be granted interim release while proceedings for his fitness are underway.

The ICC deputy prosecutor maintained that ‘Duterte, if granted interim release, would be a flight risk, is likely to interfere with the proceedings, and may commit further crimes.’

He accused the defense, led by Nicholas Kaufman, of ‘unnecessarily (delaying) the proceedings by waiting until five months after Mr. Duterte’s initial appearance. to file its challenge regarding his fitness to stand trial,’ said the deputy ICC prosecutor.

Last August, Kaufman claimed that the former president was unfit to stand trial and sought to terminate the proceedings.

Actress Angel Aquino shared that her life is an “open book” and revealed in a TV interview that she also likes girls.

In “The Daily Dish” of Bilyonaryo New Channel, Angel was asked if there is something that people still do not know about her.

‘Oh, I don’t know, my life’s an open book. I like girls? There. Well, a lot of people are in denial – sila talaga ‘yung in denial,’ she said.

She then clarified her “I like girls” statement.

‘Wait, can I just correct that because I said I like girls. You know that might sound – especially with social media – it might sound weird,” she said.

“I’m saying I fall in love with also with girls and women. They might think it, you know, it can sound weird kasi if you just if you take it as is,’ she added.

In the same interview, Angel was also asked what she would do if she had a billion pesos to spend.

‘I’d be so happy. I will build my pet hotel and make sure that there’s space for my beautiful pets to run around. I will help people with education because I think that education is very important,’ she said.

Angel shared that she has six dogs. She initially saw taking care of them as a “chore,” but then gradually fell in love with them, one of whom was her sister’s pet.

‘I was sent through school by Tulong-Dunong which is an Ateneo scholarship program and I want to help that – I want to be able to give back,’ she added.

Known as the City of Pines and Summer Capital of the Philippines, Baguio City is a premier tourist destination and home to a vibrant community of over 366,000 residents.

Beyond its cool climate and scenic beauty, Baguio is also known for its strong commitment to sustainability and progress, with its local government consistently championing projects aimed at creating a livable, inclusive and creative environment for its Baguio 2043 vision.

Helping to illuminate this vision is no other than the world leader in lighting, Signify. Together, Signify and the Baguio LGU have embarked on a transformative lighting project that not only enhanced the city’s visual charms but also propelled significant progress across various sectors.

In an interview with Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, the LGU was using traditional streetlights and was paying P4.9 million a month. But when they made the switch from high-pressure sodium lamps (HPS) to low-wattage LED lights, not only did it generate significant savings for Baguio, but it also resulted in more safety and security for people due to better illumination.

‘Ang naging vision namin, Baguio 2043-a liveable, inclusive and creative Baguio,’ Mayor Magalong shared.

‘When we transitioned to LED, mas maliwanag pa…ang binabayaran nalang natin (ay) umaabot ng P1.5 to P1.6 million as compared sa P4.8 million. Ang savings namin is around P30+ million a year sa lighting pa lang,’ he added.

The impact of Philips lighting solutions extends beyond simply making streets brighter. It also lights the way to meaningful progress on tourism, public safety, good governance and the city’s overall environmental footprint.

Glowing reviews from tourists

Baguio’s picturesque views, bustling night markets and city activities added another layer of attraction with the help of reliable and appealing lighting.

Visitors have taken notice, describing a better experience with just a touch of the power of effective lighting.

“This is my second time roaming around the Baguio Night Market,” shared Sophia, a Balikbayan tourist. ‘And the first time I went here, it was not well-lighted. So I think it’s better na ganito siya kaliwanag. Kasi mas maayos siya and better experience siya for visitors.’

Local businesses also felt the benefits of the improved lighting system. Lighting, while often overlooked, holds a profound power to transform experiences and environments, making them better.

Shining the light on good governance

The Baguio LGU’s commitment to good governance and efficient resource management is the cornerstone of its operations. The partnership with Signify, in particular, reflects a meticulous approach to ensuring public funds are utilized effectively for the highest quality outcomes.

‘One of the things we are proud of here in Baguio is that there is no corruption,’ Mayor Magalong shared. ‘That’s why our principle of good governance is very strong. And you have to make sure also that there’s due diligence in choosing the right brand.’

‘We have to make sure that our suppliers are so aligned with our principle of good governance as well. That’s why for me, I would rather go for Philips because we have already tested it,’ he added.

The consistent quality and reliability of Signify’s Philips brand played a crucial role in the LGU’s decision. With this, Signify also underscores its commitment to providing innovative, sustainable lighting solutions that genuinely contribute to urban development and the well-being of communities.

The project in Baguio indeed serves as a powerful testament to how intelligent lighting can foster progress and create a better future.

The signify promise

Raghuraman Chandrasekhar, country leader for professional business at Signify Philippines, also echoed the same sentiment: ‘Taxpayers’ money is sacred, it is hard-earned. This drives us to win the trust of the government and the Filipino people. Given this, Signify works hard to execute LGU lighting projects right the first time. All of us at Signify owe this promise to everyone, and we are committed to working hard to keep this pledge.’

Signify remains committed to providing reliable, energy-efficient and future-ready lighting solutions across the Philippines. The story of Baguio City is a shining example of how, through collaboration and innovation, a city can light its way to a more sustainable and secure future.

Blacklist International, Boom Esports, Elevate and ACT Esports Club will be the four teams representing the country in the upcoming Honor of Kings International Championship (KIC) happening in Manila this November.

Boom Esports and Blacklist International advanced to the Honor of Kings’ world stage by booking the top two seeds in the group stages of the fall season of the 2025 Philippines Kings League (PKL). This granted them at least a top-four finish.

ACT Esports Club and Elevate had to go through the single elimination for the playoffs first to book their slots in the KIC.

Third seed ACT Esports Club had no trouble sweeping sixth seed TNT Tropang Alab, 2-0; while fifth seed Elevate pulled off an upset, sweeping fourth seed WETRND Esports, 2-0, to qualify to the KIC.

With all four teams qualifying, all eyes will be on which squad lift the PKL trophy and be the country’s top seed as well as the country’s sole representative in the upcoming 2025 Honor of Kings Nation Clash in Malaysia at the end of this month.

The double-elimination playoffs of the 2025 PKL Fall Season will begin Friday, October 10, at the Trinoma Activity Center in Quezon City, with Blacklist International versus ACT Esports Club, and Boom Esports against Elevate.

Just to be clear, our lawmakers themselves are the ones who have made it difficult (and continue to make it difficult) for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to quickly act and look into accounts of individuals who are under suspicion of money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption or illegal financial transactions.

Thus, if our legislators truly want to heed the call for transparency, address corruption and prove that they are not using the bank secrecy law to hide their own unexplained wealth, they should now act promptly to pass the necessary amendments to lift the restrictions on the bank secrecy law.

As currently crafted, the Philippines’ bank secrecy law imposes restrictive conditions for the BSP and/or the AMLC to look into individual accounts and put a freeze order on such accounts. The existing bank secrecy law requires the BSP and/or AMLC to first secure a court order to look into suspicious accounts.

Problem is, in securing the court order, information leakage often happens, so by the time the BSP and/or the AMLC secures the court order to look into private individual accounts, the suspected account holders may already have been able to move or empty the bank account.

According to the BSP, as early as 2011, the Group of Twenty or G20 had already declared that the ‘era of bank secrecy is over’ after it endorsed the standards on transparency and exchange of information.

In 2014, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development released the standard for automatic exchange of information as the new global standard of obtaining detailed account information from financial institutions, and exchanging that information automatically with other jurisdictions for the purpose of combatting tax evasion, money laundering and commission of other crimes. This global regulatory watch lifted the cloak of bank secrecy.

The last three to hold out from the transparency move were Lebanon, the Philippines and Switzerland. Switzerland and Lebanon eventually lifted their bank secrecy laws. The Philippines is now the only country to still have a restrictive bank secrecy policy, making it hard for the government to go after tax evaders and money launderers.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the Philippines’ bank secrecy law restricts the ability of the BSP to undertake effective supervision. The IMF noted that our secrecy laws undermine financial stability, financial integrity and development of the banking sector, and expose the banking system to reputational risk.

The IMF recommended that legislative amendments be promptly approved to give the BSP direct and full access to individual depositor information covered by bank secrecy laws.

The BSP, Bankers Association of the Philippines, Management Association of the Philippines, Chamber of Thrift Banks and the Makati Business Club have proposed the repeal of bank secrecy laws. While there are pending legislative proposals to amend the existing bank deposit secrecy law in the Philippines, Congress has not exerted effort to enact the proposed amendments.

Fortunately, the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act was passed and signed into law last year to combat financial cybercrimes, safeguard the interests of financial consumers and uphold the integrity of the financial system. Under the AFASA, the BSP has the authority to investigate and inquire into financial accounts, and to share the said information with law enforcement and other competent authorities subject to the limitations imposed under the said law.

For such purpose, the relevant provisions of laws containing prohibitions against inquiry into or disclosure of deposits under the Law on Secrecy of Bank Deposits, Foreign Currency Deposits Act of the Philippines and the Revised Non-Stock Savings and Loan Association Act of 1997, shall not apply to financial accounts that are the subject of the BSP’s investigation.

Removing the restriction on our bank secrecy law is a crucial move as the world faces an even far greater threat from evolving digital technology and cryptocurrencies.

In a recent article of the IMF Finance and Development Magazine, Chady El Khoury, deputy division chief in the IMF’s legal department, wrote about fighting tech-fueled crime that now uses advanced technology and Artificial Intelligence.

In his article, he wrote that organized criminals are operating across international borders using advanced technology and social engineering, such as romance or investment scheme to manipulate victims using AI-generated profiles, encrypted messaging and obscured blockchain transaction to hide and move stolen funds.

Criminals, El Khoury wrote, are outpacing enforcement by adapting ever faster, using the best tools for their schemes, from laundering money through crypto and AI-enabled impersonation to producing deepfake content, encrypted apps and decentralized exchanges.

Authorities, he said, now face anonymous, borderless threats, but are unfortunately held back by jurisdiction, process and legacy systems.

Annual illicit crypto activity growth, he wrote, has averaged about 25 percent in recent years and may have surpassed $51 billion last year, according to Chainalysis, a New York-based blockchain analysis firm specializing in helping criminal investigators trace transactions.

Bad actors, he said, still depend on cash and traditional finance, and money laundering specifically relies on banks, informal money changers and cash couriers. But the old ways are being reinforced or supercharged by technologies to thwart detection and disruption.

Encrypted messaging apps, he said, help criminal cartels coordinate cross-border transactions. Stablecoins and lightly regulated virtual asset platforms can hide bribes and embezzled funds.

Cybercriminals use AI-generated identities and bots to deceive banks and evade outdated controls. Tracking proceeds generated by organized crime is nearly impossible for agencies with insufficient resources.

AI lowers barriers to entry, he added. Fraudsters with voice-cloning and fake-document generators bypass the verification protocols many banks and regulators still use. Their innovation is growing as compliance systems lag.

Governments recognize the threats, but responses are fragmented and uneven – including in the regulation of crypto exchanges.

And there are delays implementing the Financial Action Task Force’s travel rule to better identify those sending and receiving money across borders, which most digital proceeds cross.