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The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is closely monitoring Tropical Storm Halong, which may enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and potentially become the second typhoon of October.

Halong, which will be locally named Quedan, was located approximately 2,150 kilometers east-northeast of extreme northern Luzon yesterday afternoon, generating winds of up to 75 kilometers per hour near its center and waves reaching 90 kph.

The storm is moving northwestward at a slow pace, with its path largely dependent on surrounding high-pressure systems. If northern high-pressure zones dominate, Halong may remain outside the PAR; if influenced by high pressure near mainland China, it could enter the northeastern periphery of Philippine waters.

While Halong is not expected to affect the entire country, authorities are monitoring its potential to influence local weather, particularly in northern and eastern Luzon.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Matmo, formerly Typhoon Paolo, was last located 1,190 kilometers north of the Philippines and was moving toward southern China.

Although it poses no direct threat to the Philippines, Matmo is enhancing the southwest monsoon, bringing cloudy skies and scattered rains to Palawan and the Kalayaan Islands.

While I’m a huge fan of stock option plans and feel they’re an underused compensation tool, I also recognize the signal risk they introduce when insiders exercise those rights and the subsequent disclosures trigger negative-leaning stories on social media. PLUS shareholders are once bitten (and therefore twice shy), but these sales happened months ago, and the impact was basically unnoticeable through all of the insane noise coming from Senators Villanueva and Gatchalian. Well, at least until Villanueva got sat down by allegations of grotesque corruption, and Gatchalian couldn’t squeal above the volume of the public’s rage for what the ruling class had done with our money. Timing is key.

PNR general manager Deovanni Miranda is asking Congress for an additional budget so that his agency could revive Lucena-Naga trips, spanning more than 250 kilometers, by the end of 2026.

For 2026, the Department of Budget and Management is proposing to give the PNR an allocation of P351.62 million, far from the original request of P9.19 billion.

Right now, the PNR is repairing the bridges and tracks to the north of Sipocot, Camarines Sur. It is aiming to reconnect the line to Lucena to provide commuters with rail transit when traveling in Southern Tagalog and Bicol.

Without the requested capital, Miranda said it would be challenging to sustain train services.

The PNR will use the funding to procure maintenance equipment and new locomotives to ensure that trips are comfortable and reliable.

‘The PNR still does not have good maintenance equipment and a train workshop in our southern operations. We still use the same old style of manual maintenance. We don’t have a new fleet of trains which can provide comfortable and reliable long-haul travel,’ Miranda told The STAR.

Fortunately, the PNR is receiving offers from rail operators in Japan and Taiwan for the donation of narrow-gauge locomotives to boost its fleet for Lucena-Naga trips.

The PNR is also ready to spend as much as P143.84 million to migrate its old trainsets in Manila and Caloocan to serve the Lucena and Camarines Sur lines.

A new, improved railway is waiting to be built in the Bicol Region, called the South Long Haul Project. The SLH was supposed to be funded by a loan from China, but Manila withdrew its request in 2023 due to Beijing’s inaction.

The SLH will build a 557-kilometer line between Sucat, Muntinlupa and Matnog, Sorsogon, parallel to the old Bicol Express. Since the SLH will deploy high-speed trains, it will slash travel time from Manila to Bicol to just four hours.

Economist and former Albay lawmaker Joey Salceda is hoping France will take the project as conveyed by French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin during his April visit.

Salceda recognizes the funding issue faced by the SLH, especially as it would cost P175 billion to build, making it one of the most expensive projects in the government’s rail pipeline.

For comparison, the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 is estimated to cost P68.2 billion, while the Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension Project requires less at P64.9 billion.

Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon is asking the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to find the SLH a new financier immediately.

Given the scale of the SLH, it is banked on to bolster the economic prospects of Bicol, one of the country’s poorest regions.

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, poverty incidence in Bicol remains one of the highest at 20.3 percent as of 2023. This is nearly double the national average of 10.9 percent.

‘It (SLH) can provide more impactful outcomes for the regional corridors of Bicol and Southern Tagalog on economic growth, poverty reduction and reduced travel times,’ Ridon told The STAR.

President Marcos has framed his administration as a period for rail renaissance, initially eyeing to partially operate within his term the country’s largest rail projects: the North-South Commuter Railway and the Metro Manila Subway Project.

Instead, the DOTr was burdened with troubles in right of way acquisition, delaying the timelines of ongoing projects, while proposed ones like SLH lost potential funders.

The government has begun deploying psychometricians and psychosocial responders across Northern Cebu to help earthquake survivors cope with trauma and stress, marking a crucial shift from rescue to recovery following the 6.9-magnitude earthquake.

Mental health care has become a top priority as communities continue to endure aftershocks and emotional distress.

‘We are now in the recovery phase, and that includes mental health-especially for those who lost loved ones and for our exhausted health workers,’ said Department of Health-Central Visayas (DOH-VII) Regional Director Dr. Joshua Brilliantes.

‘We’ve started deploying psychosocial teams to various areas. We urge everyone to remain vigilant, especially with the ongoing aftershocks.’

Teams of psychometricians and mental health professionals from the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) Center for Behavioral Health have already arrived in San Remigio Gym to conduct psychological debriefings and post-earthquake interventions.

Dr. Elisse Nicole Catalan, daughter of Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro, confirmed that additional teams from DOH Manila will be deployed in the coming days to continue the mission of healing and support.

The initiative is part of the government’s expanded recovery operations after the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) officially terminated Search, Rescue, and Retrieval (SRR) operations on October 2 in San Remigio, Daanbantayan, Medellin, and Bogo City. All missing persons have been accounted for.

Civil Defense Administrator Undersecretary Harold Cabreros, who joined President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his visit to Bogo City, underscored that while the search phase has ended, the mission to sustain and protect lives continues.

‘The period of saving lives has now shifted into the period of sustaining lives,’ Cabreros said.

According to the latest data from the OCD and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the quake left 72 people dead, more than 500 injured, and around 171,000 individuals affected across 53 barangays in northern Cebu.

More than 4,000 families-about 20,000 individuals-remain displaced, many of them sheltering in open areas and tent cities.

Experts stressed that mental health care is not optional in disaster recovery but essential. Earthquakes can leave invisible wounds-anxiety, grief, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress that persist long after physical injuries have healed.

Children, the elderly, and those who witnessed death or destruction are especially vulnerable. Without proper intervention, these psychological impacts can hinder recovery, strain relationships, and deepen suffering.

Post-trauma care helps individuals process their experiences, regain a sense of safety, and rebuild emotional resilience. It also supports health workers and responders who face immense pressure and emotional fatigue.

By prioritizing psychological support, the government affirms that recovery is not just about rebuilding homes-it’s about restoring lives.

To further ensure access to care, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa has directed PhilHealth to implement zero-balance billing for earthquake survivors and the families of the deceased.

Patients referred to private hospitals or DOH facilities-including VSMMC, Eversley Childs Sanitarium, Talisay District Hospital, and Cebu South Medical Center-will receive full coverage under this directive.

PhilHealth Regional Vice President Marjorie Cabrieto and officers from PRO VII have conducted hospital visits in Northern Cebu to assess urgent needs and validate patient data.

The Outpatient Emergency Care Benefit (OECB) package remains available for accredited hospitals treating quake-related injuries.

Meanwhile, relief efforts continue with the distribution of aquatabs, hygiene kits, water containers, and essential medicines.

For health emergencies, DOH-Central Visayas has activated its 24/7 Emergency Healthline, accessible via #0711 for Globe and TM users, with alternative numbers available for Smart and landline subscribers.

He’s virtually won every possible award in the PBA but nine-time MVP June Mar Fajardo remains hungry for more.

And what he wants to win next isn’t another MVP run in Season 50, which would further his greatness, but something that benefits his San Miguel Beer teammates.

‘More championships pa,’ said Fajardo, who has 11 rings entering the league’s golden season.

‘Lahat naman ng players yun ang goal. Maraming championships pang darating bago ako mag-retiro,’ he said.

Fajardo was named MVP for the third straight season and led the achievers in yesterday’s Season 49 Leo Awards at the Novotel Manila.

JMF amassed 3,041 points from stats and votes from players and media to soundly beat NLEX’ Robert Bolick (1,914) and former NorthPort star Arvin Tolentino (1,901) for the top individual.

‘The Kraken’ also went home with trophies for First Mythical Team and All-Defensive Team.

SMB’s CJ Perez and TNT’s Calvin Oftana joined JMF, Bolick and Tolentino in the First Mythical Team while TNT’s Glenn Khobuntin, Magnolia’s Zav Lucero, Ginebra’s Stephen Holt and Titan’s Joshua Munzon shared the stage with Fajardo in the All-Defensive 5.

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has ordered its key shelter agencies (KSAs) to implement a moratorium on housing amortization in areas hit by typhoons and the recent earthquake that struck Cebu province.

The directive, issued by DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling, complies with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s instruction to extend all possible assistance to disaster victims.

‘Alinsunod sa utos ng Pangulo, handa ang DHSUD at aming mga attached agencies upang umagapay sa mga biktima ng kalamidad patungo sa kanilang pagbangon,’ Aliling said.

The moratorium applies to members of Pag-IBIG Fund, National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), National Housing Authority (NHA), and Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC)-all under DHSUD’s oversight.

‘Bilang paunang tulong ay sinuspinde na namin ang housing amortization sa mga members na naapektuhan ng mga bagyo at lindol sa Bicol at Cebu,’ Aliling added.

The Housing Secretary specifically instructed the heads of the four KSAs to immediately declare the suspension of amortization for members affected by typhoons ‘Nando’ and ‘Opong’ in Bicol, and the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that devastated parts of Cebu.

He emphasized that the moratorium would ease financial pressure on families struggling to recover. ‘Malaking bagay sa ating mga kababayan na nasalanta ng bagyo at lindol ang hindi na muna alalahanin ang pagbayad ng buwanang amortization sa panahong ito,’ Aliling stressed.

As part of the broader whole-of-government response, DHSUD also mobilized its regional offices to conduct ground assessments of shelter damage and coordinate with other agencies and private sector partners for immediate housing assistance.

On Friday, Aliling sent a DHSUD team to Cebu to evaluate the situation on the ground. The following day, top officials joined an interagency meeting in Bogo City-one of the hardest-hit areas-to align government and NGO efforts.

Undersecretaries Ed Robles and Ramon Quintin Allado, and Assistant Secretary Hernando Caraig Jr. participated in the meeting alongside Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon and other national officials.

The DHSUD team also inspected residential areas in Barangay Dakit, Bogo City, believed to be near the fault line that triggered the quake.

They visited the proposed site for a ‘tent city’ that will temporarily shelter displaced residents who lost their homes or remain afraid to return.

‘Alinsunod po ito sa direktiba ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. para sa pagsasanib-pwersa ng mga ahensya ng gobyerno at pribadong sektor sa pagtulong sa pagbangon ng ating mga kababayang nabiktima ng lindol sa Cebu,’ Aliling said.

The moratorium stands as a critical first step in DHSUD’s disaster response, offering immediate financial reprieve, while longer-term shelter solutions are being mobilized.

It hits differently when a classroom full of curious school kids become engrossed in a game – not from a digital gadget, but from a classic board game.

The game, called Master of Disaster (MOD), features a map and play cards with images and icons indicating storms, floods, earthquakes and fires.

Morbid? Not for the kids and their teacher, who find the game as encouraging as it is educational. While the goal is to win just like in any game, MOD provides the kids with the opportunity to learn how to prepare and plan for various disasters, including the value of non-life insurance.

Each player recognizes the need to make choices, whether to spend available resources on rebuilding, or invest on preparing through insurance.

A winning partnership for the curriculum

The initiative is part of a new collaboration between the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC), through its affiliate Malayan Insurance Co. Inc. (Malayan) and the non-profit Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST).

ASSIST developed MOD and helped Malayan with the donation of the board games to select schools nationwide.

More than just a donation drive, the collaboration allows MOD to be integrated into the curriculum through a structured training and support program, ensuring that teachers can use it not only as entertainment but also as a real tool for learning.

This innovative approach aligns with the Department of Education’s emphasis on Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction and underscores the insurance industry’s role in protecting communities.

Why non-life insurance matters

YGC looks at the program beyond social responsibility and community development. It’s also about future-proofing the way the next generation makes decisions when disasters strike.

For Malayan, this is more than just a game – it’s a tool that builds a culture of preparedness and resilience at a very young age. By making complex concepts simple and engaging, the company is building disaster resilience from the ground up.

Children learn this in the classroom, then bring their new knowledge home where they can discuss disaster preparedness with the family and protect themselves and their property with insurance.

Strategic thinking from the game

Traditionally, schools teach kids how to react in case of disaster emergencies through evacuation drills and related lectures.

Information about financial aftermaths of disasters may be too much for young minds to absorb, so simulations make up for the possible overload.

MOD goes beyond the duck, cover and hold exercise and other similar drills and lectures. The game makes the players think like strategists, taking into consideration the protection of their family, their home and their community before disasters strike.

They develop forward thinking, making up ‘what-if’ scenarios in their heads if they prepare – or don’t.

Triumph from a disaster game

Rolling the dice for education is truly an extraordinary way for a young student to become a ‘master of disaster.’

Survival is no longer a scene from a disaster movie they watched on TV or the moviehouse, and the word ‘insurance’ is not just a word for adults to talk about.

For YGC, teaming Malayan with ASSIST is a triumph in turning a game into a strategic new skill and knowledge for the young generation toward disaster resilience.

The Philippines is ready to pursue an update to its trade deal with Japan to expand banana exports, signaling the government’s intention to secure better market access for one of the country’s top agricultural commodities.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said last week that the government is preparing a trade proposal to offer Tokyo as part of efforts to expand shipments of the tropical fruit to Asia’s second-largest economy.

‘They mentioned that it can be possible if we have something to offer. So I’ll have to talk to (Department of Trade and Industry) and our sister or partner agencies in the Philippines to see what to come up with a package that we can offer them,’ Tiu Laurel told reporters on the sidelines of the 47th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry.

He said discussions may include a possible gradual reduction of import tariffs on Philippine bananas, similar to trade arrangements Japan has extended to other producers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), such as Vietnam and Thailand.

The planned talks come months after Trade Secretary Cristina Roque announced in May that the government would push for a general review of the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA), the country’s first bilateral free trade deal.

Roque had said the review was ‘long overdue,’ noting that both sides were supposed to revisit the terms of the agreement as early as 2011 and every five years thereafter.

She said agricultural products, including bananas, were among the items the Philippines wanted to advance in the negotiations.

At the time, Roque said she was set to meet with Japanese officials in Tokyo to discuss possible adjustments to the PJEPA following earlier efforts by trade representatives to remove seasonal tariffs on Philippine banana exports.

ACUVEX Corp. is investing P3 million in Cavite to manufacture tools for industrial production, according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

In a statement, the PEZA said ACUVEX is making the initial investment for the fabrication of jigs and fixtures in the Cavite Economic Zone (CEZ).

A registration agreement was signed by PEZA director general Tereso Panga and ACUVEX president Hong Keat Ong on Sept. 29 to formalize the firm’s entry as a new export enterprise.

The firm’s project is expected to begin by the end of the year.

‘ACUVEX’s entry is another step forward in reinforcing CEZ as a hub for high-value and precision manufacturing,’ Panga said.

By targeting the precision manufacturing sector, the PEZA expects ACUVEX’s project to complement existing CEZ locators in electronics, automotive and robotics-related supply chains.

It is also expected to support local businesses and service providers within the ecozone.

Beyond strengthening CEZ’s position as a hub for advanced manufacturing, the project supports PEZA’s aim to promote inclusive growth by positioning the Philippines as a hub for investments.

‘Each new locator strengthens the ecozone ecosystem and contributes to our vision of a competitive, sustainable and resilient industrial base for the country,’ Panga said.

PEZA investments jumped by 34 percent to P154.7 billion from January to September compared to last year’s P115.89 billion. For this year, the PEZA’s target is to approve at least P235 billion worth of investments.

Under our country’s election laws, a scheduled election exercise can be postponed, cancelled or reset to another date. Section 5 of the Omnibus Election Code empowers the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to decide whether or not to postpone any scheduled election if there is any widespread acts of violence or terrorism or force majeure.

Two scheduled elections were reset one after the other, though not due to any of the three reasons.

At our Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last Wednesday, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia cited this amid issues on the resetting of two elections originally scheduled for later this year. A veteran election lawyer before he was appointed to head the seven-man poll body, Garcia conceded this Comelec’s mandate to other acts of three co-equal branches of the government. Supposedly an independent constitutional body, the Comelec though has no other option but to comply.

On the same day of our Kapihan news forum, the Supreme Court (SC) handed down its ruling as final and executory to postpone the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliament elections. From Oct.13, or next Monday, the SC ordered the Comelec to hold it not later than March 2026.

On the other hand, it was the 19th Congress that postponed the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) slated originally on Dec.1 this year. Under Republic Act (RA) 12232 signed by President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (PBBM), it will be held instead on the first Monday of November 2026 – which falls on Nov. 2.

A very compelling opinion piece about the SC ruling on the BARMM Parliament elections was published by the Mindanao Varsitarian, the official publication of the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Marawi City. It was written by Al-sulkry Abdullatif who, from his Facebook account, is a young man in his 20’s and a student at MSU.

More or less, the young writer reflected much of the sentiments of the BARMM people, especially youth leaders like him. Here it goes:

‘The SC’s ruling that Bangsamoro Autonomy Act (BAA) 58 and its replacement, BAA 77, are unconstitutional is a hard reset that the BARMM badly needed. What many feared – that the inaugural parliamentary elections of the region would be marred by political machinations – has now been confirmed by the country’s highest court.

‘BAA 58, passed in 2023, sought to redraw parliamentary districts within BARMM. Critics argued that it was riddled with irregularities and unfairly favored political interests. BAA 77, passed in 2024 to replace it, was supposed to correct those flaws but instead retained the same gerrymandering patterns, cementing suspicions that both measures were crafted for political expediency rather than genuine representation.

‘Let’s be honest: These laws were never about empowering the Bangsamoro people. BAA 58 and BAA 77 were hurriedly crafted to redraw parliamentary districts in a way that reeked of political expediency. The timing, the process and the intent all pointed one way – narrow, self-interested agendas. In short, these were not the people’s laws, but politicians’.

‘To those who bled and cried to gain the right to self-governance, this is a bitter betrayal. BARMM was the result of decades of struggle, negotiations towards peace and untold lives lost. To watch its first elections be reduced to a gerrymandering game is a mockery of that legacy.

‘The SC’s directive to delay the polls until March 2026 is not a setback – it is a safeguard. It prevents the region’s democratic foundations from being built on rotten ground. After all, what is the purpose of conducting elections on time if the rules themselves are unconstitutional? That would not be a celebration of democracy, but its parody.

‘Comelec Chairman George Garcia put it best: ‘It’s back to zero for Comelec.’ And it is indeed. But this ‘zero’ is also an opportunity to get things right. The ball is now in the hands of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA)’s court and it has until Oct. 30, 2025 to come up with a constitutional, legitimate and transparent apportionment of seats. The BTA cannot afford to fail in this task.

‘Critics would say that another extension negates the people’s mandate. But let us not mistake speed with progress. If another year is the price of having fair and credible elections, then so be it. The Bangsamoro was not constructed to be a playground for dynasties. It was constructed to give back dignity and representation to a people long denied the same.

‘Let there be no doubt: ‘Better a delayed election built on legitimacy than a rushed one built on betrayal.’

‘This decision is also a warning to politicians – within and outside the region – that the peace process is not theirs to play games with. The fruits of autonomy are not politicking chips for survival. They are the hard-won fruit of collective sacrifice, and they must be fiercely defended.

‘Let us be clear: gerrymandering is thievery. It is the stealthy stealing of voices, the cutting of communities into shreds for the exclusive advantage of the few. And in the Bangsamoro, where lives were taken to ensure self-determination, this theft is unthinkable.

‘The Bangsamoro people have waited decades for representation and justice. They can wait a few months more if it means their first parliament shall be founded on legitimacy, not treachery. The SC has acted. Now it is time for the BTA to do the same – with transparency, candor and with the people as the focal point of every decision.

‘And to those who spearheaded BAA 58 and BAA 77 through the cracks of authority: recall that this decision is not merely a judicial setback. It is a public rebuke. It says to the Bangsamoro people, ‘Your struggle is not for sale.’

‘The message is clear: you cannot hijack the Bangsamoro dream for personal ambition. You cannot steal peace bought at the price of blood. You cannot re-draw the map of sacrifice to suit your ambition.

‘The voice of the people has been heard. Now, accountability must follow. #Bangsamoro’