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The Davao and Caraga regional police are on ‘full alert’ following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck off Davao Oriental on Friday morning, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.

The tremor occurred 43 kilometers northeast of Manay, Davao Oriental at 9:43 a.m., according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

‘All affected areas, the two regions (Davao and Caraga), are on full alert,’ PNP public information chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Friday noon.

According to Tuaño, initial reports from the Davao police indicated that the Panabo City Police Station and the Talaingod Municipal Police Station sustained damage.

He also cited initial information from the Caraga police that the Magsaysay Bridge in Butuan City was damaged and temporarily closed to motorists.

Police have yet to release a detailed report on the number of officers deployed or the extent of damage to police stations, as personnel are still completing their assessment, Tuaño added.

Earlier, the Department of the Interior and Local Government advised local government units in Davao Oriental, Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Eastern Samar to evacuate coastal areas amid a tsunami warning from Phivolcs.

‘Our personnel are ready to provide security at evacuation centers. As of this report, while some centers have been established, no evacuees are yet present,’ Tuaño said.

‘He (PNP Acting Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.) is urging affected regions to tighten security measures,’ he added.

The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) clarified that they are opposing any plans to import sugar despite flagging the dangers of short supply. This situation is partly blamed on an ongoing outbreak of red-striped soft scale insects (RSSI) in Negros.

‘We have consistently opposed unbridled sugar importation, knowing that excessive importation has caused the decrease in sugar prices for the past crop years,’ NFSP President Enrique Rojas said in a statement sent to the Inquirer.

‘Our Federation has always called for controlled importation, particularly on the specific volume and schedule of the arrival of imported sugar, so that sugar prices will not be adversely affected,’ added Rojas.

The NFSP said their words were allegedly ‘maliciously misrepresented,’ referring to an Oct. 3 report titled ‘Pests threaten sugar supply, prompts importation, say growers.’

In their message to the Inquirer on Oct. 1, Rojas said: ‘(The) government and the private sector have worked hand in hand to combat the infestation and at least, control the spread of RSSI and minimize the damage to our sugarcane crops. As we have observed in the past years, our production has not been enough to fill the demand.’

Necessary, but.

‘This makes it necessary to import but any importation should be judiciously managed in terms of the volume and timing of arrival, so that our farmers will not be placed at a disadvantage against these cheaper, subsidized imported sugar,’ Rojas added.

‘Hopefully, after all the RSSI-affected canes are harvested in the early months of the season, our prospective crops can recover and we can produce enough sugar to fill our domestic demand, so that there will be no need for sugar importation in the coming crop years,’ Rojas said.

On Wednesday, he said: ‘In fact last week, we already communicated to the SRA our concern regarding the excessive importation under Sugar Order No. 8, Series of 2024-2025. We agreed to an initial importation of 150,000 metric tons, but more than that volume has already entered the country, as of September 14.’

‘With a huge projected stock balance and the excessive importation under Sugar Order No. 8, sugar prices will suffer in the early months of the milling season. Under this scenario, additional importation will be suicidal to the sugar industry. Thus, the NFSP categorically states that it is against any importation at this stage of the crop year,’ he stressed. INQ

Alfamart Philippines, the minimart chain of the SM group, has recently launched its franchising program. This opens doors for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to grow alongside Alfamart’s nationwide expansion.

The pilot began in Laguna with two franchise-owned stores. The first was launched with Leovino C. Datario, a long-time Alfamart landlord, in October 2024.

The second, opened last August in partnership with Arles A. Uy, Jr., owner of AAU Corp. which operates 15 Express Clean laundromat branches aside from Alfamart stores.

As of end-September, Alfamart has expanded to 2,337 stores nationwide.

‘This reflects the SM group’s commitment to inclusive growth and entrepreneurship,’ said Harvey T. Ong, chief operating officer of Alfamart Philippines.

‘By allowing tenants to evolve into franchisees, Alfamart is enabling MSMEs to scale alongside its own expansion, strengthening local communities and livelihoods,’ Ong said in a statement.

Part of SM’s retail food business, Alfamart blends the convenience of a neighborhood store with the breadth of a supermarket. This is a format gaining strong traction across Southeast Asia, particularly among families and communities that value accessibility and affordability.

Alfamart Philippines is a joint venture between SM and Alfamart, which has more than 21,000 mini-marts in Indonesia.

Alfamart offers a wide assortment of products catering to daily needs including a selection of basic groceries, SM Bonus products, fresh and frozen goods, snacks, and personal care items. INQ

A new low-pressure area (LPA) was spotted outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) as tropical storm Quedan exited, the weather bureau said Friday.

In its 5 a.m. update, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the new LPA formed at 2 a.m. Friday.

It was last located 335 kilometers west-northwest of Pag-asa Island in Kalayaan, Palawan.

‘We can see that it will not develop into a full-fledged storm, and its movement is northward,’ Pagasa weather specialist Grace Castañeda said in Filipino.

‘We also do not see it entering our area of responsibility,’ she added.

Pagasa said the trough of the LPA is forecast to bring rain to the following areas on Friday:

Metro Manila

Central Luzon

Calabarzon

Bicol Region

Mimaropa (except Palawan)

Meanwhile, the southwesterly wind flow is expected to bring scattered rains over Palawan, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Pagasa said Quedan left the PAR at 11:10 p.m. Thursday.

The storm was last located 1,355 km east-northeast of Extreme Northern Luzon, with maximum sustained winds of 75 kph and gusts of up to 90 kph. It is moving northwest at 20 kph. /mcm

Students were evacuated in Mindanao and Western Visayas on Friday, Oct. 1, as a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit near Davao Oriental at 9:43 a.m.

The tremor, which was centered 62 kilometers southeast of Manay, Davao Oriental, was widely felt in Mindanao and across Western Visayas.

As the earthquake struck, which lasted 30 seconds, students immediately rushed out of their school buildings.

School disaster response officers and personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection attended to those who fainted and those who sustained minor wounds on their way out. /atm

Some 425,000 families reeling from recent disasters could expect more help as a Quick Response Fund gets a P716.15-million top up.

The Department of Budget and Management said the release of such an amount has been approved for this year’s QRF, which the Department of Social Work and Development administers.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said in a statement that the approval for the funding was in line with directives from President Marcos.

‘(As the President said,) disaster response must always be fast, compassionate and well-coordinated,’ Pangandaman said.

‘This replenishment helps guarantee the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) can continue to provide food, shelter and cash aid to families when they need it most,’ she added.

The fund is intended to support the procurement and stockpiling at DSWD warehouses of family food packs and non-food items meant for about 424,681 families.

Cash transfers

Also, the top up would help emergency cash transfers to around 41,502 families.

These beneficiaries were affected by the Southwest Monsoon and Tropical Cyclones ‘Mirasol,’ ‘Nando’ and ‘Opong.’ They reside in communities across the regions of Bicol, Mimaropa and Cagayan Valley.

Further, part of the allocation will cover transport and delivery services, stand-by funds for regional offices and other logistical support necessary for the timely and effective delivery of relief goods and emergency assistance.

According to the DBM, the amount will be charged against the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (NDRRM) Fund under this year’s national budget.

Standby fund

‘When disasters strike, our countrymen should not be made to wait for help. The QRF ensures that every Filipino family immediately regains hope and recovers [from disasters],’ Pangandaman said.

The QRF serves as a stand-by fund that agencies like the DSWD can immediately tap for relief and rehabilitation programs during calamities.

The fund may later be replenished from the NDRRM Fund once the balance reaches 50 percent. This is subject to guidelines set by the Office of Civil Defense and the DBM.

According to the DBM, it continues to guarantee that the government’s disaster response efforts remain proactive, efficient through timely fund releases.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has canceled all tsunami warnings issued after the magnitude 7.4 earthquake in Davao Oriental.

Phivolcs issued the cancellation at 1:43 p.m., exactly two hours after they issued tsunami warnings at 11:43 a.m.

‘Any effects due to the tsunami warning have largely passed and therefore, [Phivolcs] has now cancelled all tsunami warnings issued for this event,’ Phivolcs said.

Only one tsunami wave was recorded during the warning period, specifically in Tandag, Surigao Del Sur, which occurred at 10:20 a.m. and it only reached 30 centimeters in height.

A House appropriations subcommittee has voted to retain the proposed additional P60-billion subsidy for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) in the 2026 national budget, while also requiring the agency to submit detailed reports on how the funds are spent.

In a meeting on Wednesday, the budget amendments review subcommittee agreed to incorporate a new provision in the budget requiring PhilHealth to submit a yearly report to Congress by June 30 detailing the use of the previous year’s subsidies.

The report will supplement the annual reportorial requirement under the Universal Health Care (UHC) law, which mandates disclosure of all earmarked funds from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., and sin tax revenues.

The new provision, said Nueva Ecija Representative Mikaela Suansing, aims to strengthen congressional oversight over how PhilHealth would use its state subsidies next year, which would amount to P113 billion.

Of this, P53 billion was allocated for the state insurer under the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) plus an additional P60 billion that was realigned from the slashed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The P60 billion also represents the amount of excess PhilHealth funds that were transferred to the national treasury in 2024 and ordered returned to the agency by the President on Sept. 20.

Suansing said the report would also serve as Congress’ basis for deciding future subsidies.

In 2025, Congress stripped PhilHealth completely of state subsidies for not using its funds properly and for accumulating around P600 billion in reserve funds from unspent budgets.

However, civil watchdog groups later discovered that the P74 billion budget initially allocated for the agency under the 2025 NEP was realigned to, among others, the DPWH as well as Congress’ pet social welfare program, the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita program.

In restoring the subsidies this year, the state insurer must prove it would direct the fund toward expanding packages and benefits, FPJ Bayanihan Rep. Brian Poe said.

‘If this (the P60 billion) is what PhilHealth wants, then let’s give them this, but let’s hold them to it. If by next year our constituents are still complaining that PhilHealth hasn’t been fulfilling their commitments, then they should also realize that that may affect their subsidy subsequently,’ he added. /cb

Going by how teams finished last season, no one could have predicted that 18 games into the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament would look the way it does now.

Ateneo and National University missed last year’s Final Four, and here they are, both sharing 4-1 (win-loss) records to lead an eight-team field that has had its share of surprises.

And as crazy as the standings look, the numbers fueling the teams look even crazier.

It’s hard to pinpoint the right statistics that show winning trends-although a combination of three-point shooting, passing, and defense seems to show a winning statistical pattern, although mildly.

But so far, teams are winning-and losing-with their own signature style, based on statistics provided by Pong Ducanes and the UAAP Stats Group.

NU, for example, leads the league in defense, allowing just 62.8 points per game so far this season. However, Adamson is second in that department, surrendering just about half a point more per game, and yet the Falcons are at the opposite end of the standings with just one win to show in five games.

NU also leads the league in steals (10.4), blocked shots (3.6), and turnovers forced (17.0). The Bulldogs have been great at scoring off those errors with a league-best 20.0 points off turnovers each outing, anchored by a tournament No. 1 14.0 fastbreak points per game.

Adamson’s problem lies in its offense. The Falcons average only 58.0 points per game-the only team averaging less than 60 an outing. But NU sits just above Adamson at No. 7 with 69.4 points per game and it is tasting early success.

Ateneo’s closeout defense is peerless, holding opponents’ three-pointers to just 23.2 percent shooting, an outing to backstop the league’s best three-point shooters-the Eagles are No. 1 at 31.5 percent a game.

Both the Tigers and the Eagles have lost just once this season and are No. 2 and No. 3 in assists. Those passes allowed both teams to hit open shots. While Ateneo leads the league in three-point rate, UST is tops in total field goal percentage (44.5) and 2-point field goal percentage (52.6).

But La Salle, which leads the field in assists (18 per game) is out of the top half in all three shooting departments, ranking fifth in each of them.

Defending champion University of the Philippines has been stuck in the middle of a lot of statistical categories largely because of its back-to-back losses to start the season, but its three-game winning streak-the longest active win run right now-is fueled by an equal attention on both sides of the court. The Maroons are now No. 3 in both scoring (73.4) and points allowed (70.4).

The impeachment complaint that Cavite 4th District Rep. Elpidio ‘Kiko’ Barzaga Jr. intends to file against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is unlikely to advance in the House of Representatives, as it is not among the chamber’s priorities, Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III said Friday.

Dy also said he had neither heard of Barzaga’s plan nor seen a copy of the supposed complaint.

‘We haven’t received anything yet, but there are many issues we need to address. First and foremost, our country is facing numerous problems. We must prioritize these because the pleas of our farmers need solutions; that’s what we are focusing on right now,’ Dy said in Filipino in an interview with DZMM on Friday.

Asked if the impeachment would fail, he replied: ‘Yes.’

‘But what I mean is, no complaint has been filed, and I haven’t heard that he is planning to file an impeachment complaint against the President,’ he added.

On Thursday night, Barzaga uploaded a video on his TikTok account announcing his intention to file an impeachment complaint against Marcos.

Inside the House of Representatives session hall, he showed a copy of the complaint.

‘I have a surprise for you. the Marcos impeachment complaint,’ Barzaga said, focusing the camera on the document.

‘On the grounds of betrayal of public trust, I am filing an impeachment complaint against Marcos, and hopefully Congress will remove him so we can start investigating those involved in the flood control anomalies,’ he added./mcm