Asianet Pakistan Private Limited

Environmental and religious groups, as well as various organizations in Marinduque, are seeking help from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the release of the $100 million rehabilitation fund from Marcopper mine disaster settlement.

This is in relation to the 2025 settlement agreement entered into by the people of Marinduque and Canadian firm Barrick Gold.

Barrick Gold is obligated to pay $100 million after it acquired the Placer Dome – the Canadian company that used to run the mining operations in Sta. Cruz town, along with Marcopper Mining Corporation.

The mining disaster on March 24, 1996 resulted in the massive pollution of the province’s rivers and potable water. More than a thousand protesters staged a public demonstration on Monday (Sept. 28) to demand the DENR’s release of the communication of clearance.

According to the Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns (MACEC), the document is necessary for the release of the rehabilitation fund.

‘The province is racing against a deadline set on October 4, 2026,’ Elizabeth Manggol, executive secretary of MACEC said, referring to the settlement deadline.

She explained that the fund could be compromised if the DENR will to issue the document by next week.

The group said Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Cesar Odi vowed to personally submit the petition to DENR Acting Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna on Tuesday.

The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) will continue to bring rains over Palawan, and parts of Visayas and Mindanao while fair weather will be seen over the rest of Luzon on Wednesday, according to the state weather bureau.

In the 5 a.m. weather forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration, weather specialist Chenel Dominguez said that the prevailing ITCZ is weak. The ITCZ is the convergence of winds from the northern and southern hemispheres.

‘Inaasahan naman nating makakaranas ng pag-ulan dito sa Palawan, Negros Island Region, at Zamboanga Peninsula dulot ito ng ITCZ,’ Dominguez said.

(Palawan, Negros Island Region, and Zamboanga Peninsula will experience rains due to ITCZ.)

‘Mahina po itong ITCZ kaya malaking bahagi ng Visayas at Mindanao ang makakaranas ng maaliwalas na panahon pero asahan ang bahagya hanggang maulap na papawirin na may mataas na tyansa ng mga localized thunderstorms pagdating sa hapon at gabi,’ she added.

(The ITCZ is weak, that’s why huge portions of Visayas and Mindanao will see fair weather but expect partly cloudy to cloudy skies with chances of localized thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening.)

Meanwhile, she said that fair weather conditions are expected over Luzon, with chances of localized thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening.

Temperature forecast in the following areas:

Metro Manila: 25°C to 32°C

Laoag: 25°C to 33°C

Baguio: 18°C to 24°C

Tagaytay: 22°C to 30°C

Tuguegarao: 26°C to 34°C

Legazpi: 24°C to 33°C

Kalayaan Islands: 26°C to 32°C

Puerto Princesa: 25°C to 32°C

Iloilo: 25°C to 32°C

Cebu: 24°C to 32°C

Tacloban: 25°C to 33°C

Cagayan de Oro: 24°C to 32°C

Davao: 23°C to 33°C

Zamboanga: 24°C to 34°C

TD outside the country

Dominguez also shared that while a tropical depression is being monitored outside the Philippine area of responsibility, it is not forecast to enter the country.

She added that it will not enhance the southwest monsoon or habagat.

After the Philippine women’s sepak takraw broke new ground at the Asian Games, the disappointment of falling short of gold gave way to meaning and understanding.

A silver medal. A first trip to the Asian Games final. All that after years of coming up empty.

‘All the exhaustion and failures from our previous competitions flashed back,’ Jean Marie Sucalit said. ‘It hurt every time we returned to the Philippines without a medal. Now, by God’s grace, we finally have one. And it’s a silver.’

Sucalit, team captain Abegail Sinogbuhan and substitute Nelly Jay Saron delivered the Philippines’ best-ever Asian Games finish in sepak takraw after reaching the women’s doubles final at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

The Filipinos settled for silver on Tuesday after Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Nguyen Thi Khanh Ly and Le Thi Hong Lien fashioned a 15-8, 15-4 victory at Mizuho Park Gymnasium.

The loss did little to diminish a breakthrough campaign for a Philippine women’s team that arrived hoping simply to reach the podium.

‘I have mixed emotions because we really didn’t expect to reach the final,’ Sinogbuhan said. ‘We just prayed to the Lord that we would win a medal of any color at these Asian Games. We finished the doubles event and the Lord gave us this silver medal. It feels so good.’

The Philippines went 2-1 in Group B, defeating host Japan and India before losing to South Korea, then swept Laos, 15-12, 15-10, in the semifinals to secure its first women’s sepak takraw medal and first appearance in an Asian Games final.

Vietnam denied the Filipinos one last piece of history.

The Vietnamese began pulling away midway through the opening set of the final and never allowed the Philippines to close the gap. They carried that momentum into the second, building an early advantage before completing the straight-set victory.

Still, the silver gave Philippine sepak takraw plenty to celebrate.

‘Nothing but great pride and honor,’ Sepak Takraw Pilipinas president Karen Tanchanco-Caballero said. ‘All their hard work, not just for months but for years, led to this. We needed this break for a long time.’

Tanchanco-Caballero said she chose to sit with the team as its manager during the competition rather than watch from her position as federation president.

‘I wanted to share this journey with them,’ she said. ‘All the sacrifices that they’ve been through.’

A public school teacher and proud Alangan Mangyan from Naujan town was named one of the 2026 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos and was formally recognized by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in ceremonies at Malacañang Palace on Tuesday.

Dr. Emmanuel D. Guarde, Master Teacher II at Cornelio Lintawagin Memorial Elementary School, was cited as a ‘steward of indigenous knowledge and heritage’ for developing culturally rooted learning materials that honor the identity of indigenous learners.

His milestone project, ‘Baren: An Indigenous Lullaby of Learning – Nurturing Mangyan Education Through Culture-Based Teaching,’ introduces a localized alphabet, indigenous stories, and culturally sensitive visual aids grounded in the Alangan Mangyan mother tongue and traditions.

The learning kit is designed specifically for preschool learners to build early literacy and cognitive skills while affirming their cultural identity.

‘Nation-building is not confined to high office. It is also carried out in classrooms, institutions, and communities across the country,’ President Marcos said in his remarks conferring the Medallion of Excellence upon the ten awardees.

Guarde was also recognized earlier at the House of Representatives during a plenary session, alongside nine other outstanding public servants – three other teachers, three soldiers, and three police officers – selected nationwide for the prestigious honor.

Each recipient received the Metrobank Foundation’s ‘Flame’ trophy, a Medallion of Excellence, and P1 million in recognition of service that goes beyond duty.

The Metrobank Foundation says Guarde developed the learning materials to address the lack of resources that reflect indigenous children’s experiences.

Guarde, who has served in education for 17 years, also established the Mangyan Alangan Community-Based Competencies framework and led adult literacy and infrastructure programs in remote communities.

The Outstanding Filipinos program, now in its 41st year, has honored 735 exemplary public servants since 1985.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has signaled that penalties against the country’s three major telcos could extend beyond Metro Manila, as the regulator clarified that its monitoring of mobile broadband performance covers the entire country.

In a statement dated Sept. 28, the NTC said its mobile broadband speed validation is regularly conducted nationwide through its regional offices, not just in the capital region.

Following these tests, the regulator said it notifies telcos every quarter of barangays where weak or no signal has been detected and directs them to ‘implement improvements to strengthen the quality of service in the identified areas.’

In an earlier statement, the commission said its September testing found that ‘previously recorded poor mobile broadband signals remain substantially unchanged, despite the opportunity afforded mobile network operators to undertake urgent corrective measures.’

The NTC initially identified only areas in Metro Manila when it announced plans to impose a P100,000 daily penalty each on Globe Telecom Inc., Smart Communications Inc. and DITO Telecommunity Corp.

‘Corrective action’ sought

Specifically, the areas flagged were Manila, Makati and Quezon City for Globe; San Juan, Pasay and Las Piñas for DITO; and Parañaque, Manila and Pasig for Smart.

PLDT Inc., the parent company of Smart, said in a stock exchange disclosure on Tuesday it had received the NTC’s show-cause order.

According to PLDT, the order directed Smart to ‘undertake corrective measures, submit a corrective action plan, and respond to the NTC.’

The P100,000 daily fine would only be lifted once the NTC confirms through another performance revalidation that the identified areas ‘have attained the applicable quality-of-service standard,’ PLDT said.

Globe and DITO likewise said on Tuesday that they had received the order.

Independent validation

Smart, while expressing support for the NTC’s efforts to improve telecommunications services, said it would validate the regulator’s findings against its own network data and independent third-party assessments.

It cited tests by the Department of Information and Communications Technology, to which the NTC is attached, that had rated Smart’s network performance as ‘good’ in July and August.

Smart said it had averaged download speeds of 52.13 megabits per second in August, which it said placed its network at the top nationwide in terms of mobile speeds.

The telco also cited Ookla, which recognized Smart as having the country’s best mobile video experience during the first half, with a video score of 72.82.

‘Smart will use these independent benchmarks, together with its own network data and the NTC’s findings, to guide continuing improvements in network quality, capacity and resilience,’ the PLDT wireless arm said.

The House of Representatives will begin livestreaming the Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSc) proceedings starting Thursday afternoon, Oct. 1.

This was confirmed by House Secretary General Atty. Cheloy E. Velicaria-Garafil, MNSA, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday at 1 p.m.

‘As in the previous year, all official BARSc proceedings will be livestreamed to ensure transparency and public access,’ Garafil said in a statement issued on Wednesday evening.

She added that the approved amendments during the deliberations will be publicly shown line by line to ensure transparency.

The House previously said it will open deliberations on amendments to the P7.2-trillion spending plan for 2027 to the public.

‘Members of the media are encouraged to monitor the livestream and cover the proceedings online to keep the public informed of the discussions and developments,’ she said.

The official link to the BARSc will be released by the House on Thursday once available, as stated in the same press release.

‘For accurate information and updates, please refer to the official BARSc livestream and announcements,’ she said.

Sen. Raffy Tulfo on Wednesday grilled the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), which is under the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole), over regional directors who have remained in their posts for years, with some allegedly staying for decades.

During the Senate finance committee’s 2027 DOLE budget hearing, Tulfo questioned why the PRC does not regularly reshuffle its regional directors, saying prolonged tenure in one post could lead to familiarity and possible collusion with review centers.

‘Sa lahat ng mga government agencies, nagkakaroon ng reshuffle. Sa inyo, lifetime. What makes you so special?’ Tulfo asked PRC officials.

(Across all government agencies, there are reshuffles. But in your agency, it’s for life. What makes you so special?)

Tulfo argued that other government agencies rotate their directors and questioned why PRC officials could remain in the same regional posts until retirement.

Permanent positions

The PRC chairperson, Charito Zamora, acknowledged that some regional directors had been in their positions for years.

Zamora explained that when she assumed office in 2022, the regional directors were already in their respective posts and that some had remained because they continued to perform their duties well.

‘Mga permanent positions po sila,’ Zamora added.

(They are permanent positions.)

Tulfo rejected this explanation, saying good performance should not automatically mean that an official remains in the same position indefinitely.

‘Hindi ibig sabihin na since you’re performing well, lifetime regalo ko na sa’yo ‘yan, sa’yo na ‘yan hanggang habambuhay,’ he said.

(Just because you’re performing well doesn’t mean I’ll give you that position for life-it’s yours forever.)

Tulfo alleged that some PRC regional directors had ties to review centers, including claims that officials received ‘retainer’s fees’ from such establishments.

‘Itong mga alipores mo diya, mga Poncio Pilato mo dyan, madaling makipasabwatan sa mga review centers. Ngayon, magbibigay sila ng leakage,’ Tulfo said.

(These people of yours there, your ‘Pontius Pilates,’ can easily collude with review centers. Now, they will provide exam leaks.)

He did not identify specific PRC officials or provide evidence during the hearing to substantiate the allegations.

Tulfo earlier asked acting Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino why the department had not ordered a reshuffle of the PRC’s regional directors.

Eligibility

Tolentino said DOLE’s relationship with the PRC was limited to policy matters and that the department secretary did not have jurisdiction to reshuffle the commission’s regional directors.

Meanwhile, Tulfo pointed out that directors and other senior officials in many government agencies are required to be eligible under the Career Executive Service (CES).

He questioned why this was not the case for the PRC.

‘You set the standard, you do the vetting… and yet kayo na nagse-set ng standard, kayo pala yung palpak,’ he said.

(You set the standards, you do the vetting… and yet, the ones who are setting the standards turn out to be the ones who failed.)

Zamora explained that the CES Board had previously issued a resolution declassifying the PRC positions from those covered by the CES eligibility requirement.

Tolentino, for his part, suggested that the PRC write to the CES Board to seek a review of the existing eligibility requirements for its director-level positions.

Zamora later committed to reshuffling the regional directors after Tulfo pressed her on the matter.

‘As to the reshuffling of the regional directors, Your Honor, we will do that,’ Zamora said.

Patrick Garcia opened up about his current circumstances with Jazz, his son with Jennylyn Mercado, revealing that he has not spent time with him and provided financial support since 2017 amid the actress’ alleged unresponsiveness to his efforts to reach her.

Garcia spoke about this during a recent interview vlog with Ogie Diaz, where he denied claims that he abandoned Mercado during her pregnancy with Jazz.

During the interview, the actor admitted he was abroad and that he did not try to reach out to Mercado when their son was born in August 2008. The first time he met Jazz, he recalled, was when the child was about to turn two years old.

”Yung sister ko ata or ‘yung dad ko ang nag-reach out kay Jen and invited them sa first birthday party ni Kendra. Dumating sila sa party and that was the first time I saw Jazz,’ he recounted.

‘Nung nagkita kami, parang kung ano man ‘yung nasabi niya (Mercado) sa akin, parang hayaan na. Okay naman kami,’ he continued, saying he and Mercado did not talk about their past or their co-parenting setup at the time. ‘Parang I didn’t feel the need pa na mag-usap kami. Para saan pa?’

The following month after their first meeting, Garcia said he organized a birthday party for Jazz that was attended by both his and Mercado’s family. He also acknowledged that the actress allowed him to freely spend time with their son whenever he asked until 2012.

‘Naputol nung 2012 because when it comes to money-alam mo naman ang buhay artista, ‘pag may show, bigay, ‘pag nawalan ng show, mdyo mahirap. So ‘yung time lang ang pwede kong ibigay. Pero of course, minsan, hindi enough,’ he admitted. ‘So minsan pinag-awayan namin ‘yon and syempre, damay ‘yung bata.’

The father and son reunited again in 2014 after Garcia’s now wife, Nikka Martinez, reached out to Mercado before their wedding.

Financial support for Jazz

Garcia revealed during the interview that he last saw his son in December 2017, before Mercado allegedly stopped responding to his messages about wanting to see their son.

They spoke again in 2021 after Mercado reached out through Martinez to inform him about her plans for the actress’ husband, Dennis Trillo, to adopt Jazz. Garcia said he and Martinez again asked Mercado if they could see Jazz, but the actress did not respond.

‘Hindi ko naman pwedeng ipagpilitan. I can’t force myself. I’m at the mercy of Jen’s reply,’ he said.

When asked if he continued supporting Jazz financially despite not seeing him, Garcia answered, ”Yung last bigay ko rin is 2017. Nahinto na rin. Hindi ko nakikita e, paano ko ibibigay?’

Diaz further asked whether the actor had saved the financial support he had not given to his son, to which Garcia replied, ‘Meron naman kahit papaano.’

‘With Jazz, siguro ang mali ko is being inconsistent-syempre ang buhay artista-in terms of money, time. Minsan magiging inconsistent ka talaga,’ he said. ‘Inaako ko na I should have and could have been better.’

He added, ‘Until now, I’m still striving to be a better person.’

Trillo’s relationship with Jazz

Then speaking about Jazz’s relationship with Trillo, Garcia underscored that he is delighted to know that his son is surrounded by people who love him.

‘Masaya ako kasi may nagmamahal kay Jazz… I’m happy for that, I commend that. I like seeing that,’ he spoke of Trillo’s efforts for Jazz.

Garcia, however, noted that he has yet to speak to Trillo. ‘For me, dapat ‘yung nanay ‘yung ka-reach out ko. Pero kung mas okay ka-reach out si Dennis, e ‘di dapat siya na lang.’

‘Hindi pa naman tapos ang lahat. I’m still optimistic about my future with Jazz. It’s never over,’ he said, also emphasizing that he loves all his children equally.

Garcia also extended his well-wishes for Mercado as well as his message of gratitude to Trillo.

‘Thank you, Dennis. Thank you for taking care of Jazz, for loving him like your own. I salute you for that,’ he stated.

Concluding the interview, Garcia stressed that he will still try to reach out to Mercado for their son.

‘I will always try for Jazz. That’s the only thing I can do,’ he said. ‘Sana maging okay.’

‘Ayoko ng gulo, but my piece-I just have to say my piece,’ he added. ‘For what it’s worth, this is the truth.’

A total road closure will be implemented along a section of the Mariano Lluch Badelles Sr. Road in Barangay Tambacan, Iligan City, starting Thursday, October 1, to pave the way for the rehabilitation of the Tambacan Bridge.

Pursuant to Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution No. 26-670, vehicles are not allowed on the affected road section until the rehabilitation is completed.

The rehabilitation will include replacing the bridge slab and retrofitting its structural components to address the bridge’s deteriorating condition and improve its safety and structural stability.

Motorists are advised to use C-3 Road as an alternative route while the rehabilitation works are ongoing.

Authorities are appealing for public understanding, patience, and cooperation to ensure the safe, orderly implementation of the project.

The Marcos administration plans to raise as much as P150 billion from small investors through its latest sale of retail treasury bonds (RTBs), using the proceeds to refinance maturing debt and help cover the government’s budget deficit.

The target represents new money the government hopes to raise through the offering, National Treasurer Sharon Almanza told reporters on Tuesday.

At yesterday’s rate-setting auction, the government accepted P84.9 billion of the P188.6 billion in total bids for the new bonds.

The securities, which mature in 2.5 years, carry a coupon rate of 6.875 percent.

The offer period runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 7.

Individual investors can buy the bonds for as little as P5,000, while holders of eligible securities can exchange their existing bonds for the new issue.

Almanza said bond switches typically have a participation rate of 10 percent to 20 percent, and the Treasury could accept exchanges at the upper end of that range.

Short maturity

Meanwhile, the shorter maturiy reflects stronger demand for shorter-term investments as uncertainty makes investors more reluctant to lock up their money for longer periods, Almanza said.

Previous retail bond offerings had five-year maturities.

So far, the average residual maturity of the government’s debt stock stood at about seven years, Almanza said, adding that the government continues to do active liability management exercise like debt switches, which could be done again before the end of the year. ‘Given where the rates are and how defensive the market is, we want to also make sure that we are not adding costs for the government,’ Almanza said. ‘We’re still hoping that by next year, rates will moderate.’

RTBs have become one of the government’s main sources of local borrowings to plug its budget deficit, projected at P1.658 trillion or 5.4 percent of gross domestic product.

At the same time, proceeds could help repay about P142 billion in old RTBs maturing this month and in October.

The RTBs form part of the government’s plan to borrow P892 billion from domestic sources for the fourth quarter.