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Actors Emma Roberts and Cody John tied the knot last July 25, Saturday, with the bride donning two creations by Filipina designer Monique Lhuillier.

According to fashion magazine Vogue, Emma had her final fitting with the designer a week prior accompanied by her sisters (who were her bridesmaids), mother Kelly Cunningham, and some cousins and friends.

The actress, Lhuillier, and the latter’s stylists all collaborated on a wedding gown with a custom fabric color dubbed “antique rose” – Emma’s middle name is Rose – for a “tea-stained effect,” as Emma did not want to be in a purely white dress.

“I just knew that I wanted it to feel very vintage-inspired. I’m obsessed with antique books and treasure hunting, and I love collecting old ephemera, so I really wanted that to shine through in the dress,” she continued. “I kind of wanted to look like a ghost – a little antique ghost doll.”

The designer delivered on Emma’s request by using 25 yards of antique rose-dyed fabric draped across a corset with boning still seen through silk chiffon, a layered skirt with a slit, and a draped bustle.

Additional touches by Lhuillier were a shawl accented with ecru French lace, a veil also in antique rose-dyed silk tulle, and a lace voilette that covered Emma’s eyes but could be pushed back like a headband.

‘PBB: Celebrity Collab Edition’ Kapamilya Big Winner Brent Manalo voiced his opposition to the controversial Pax Silica.

The actor and host of ‘It’s Showtime’ posted on his X account to condemn the construction of Pax Silica, an artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor industrial hub, in New Clark City, Tarlac.

Like some residents in the area, Brent is opposed to the project because of its potential impact on farmers and the agricultural sector, even though it is expected to provide many jobs.

‘NO TO PAX SILICA. Tarlac heavily relies on agriculture for its sustenance and marami sa magsasaka namin ang posibleng marelocate at mawalan ng kabuhayan dahil dito,” he wrote. ‘And this is just one of the many risks it poses. The 1.6k-hectare AI hub promises to be innovative, but at what cost?’ he added.

Brent also spoke about the issue in an episode of ‘It’s Showtime.’

He told Vice Ganda: ‘Marami pong hindi nakakaalam niyan, Meme. ‘Yung nangyayari ngayon, ‘yung Pax Silica, 1,600 hectares of land ang makakamkam if ever man na matuloy ‘yung proyekto.’

Pax Silica is part of a Philippine-American initiative to develop a 1,600-hectare AI and semiconductor hub in New Clark City, Capas, Tarlac.

In his fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. briefly cited the Pax Silica Industrial Hub as one of the administration’s priority projects, saying it would create an ecosystem with AI at its core.

Marcos said the hub, a component of the Luzon Economic Corridor, would serve as an advanced manufacturing and logistics center in the global AI and technology value chain.

The project is part of the 23-member, US-led Pax Silica Initiative, which was launched in Washington in December 2025 to help secure supply chains for AI, semiconductors and critical minerals. The Philippines joined the initiative in April, with a formal agreement expected to be signed in November.

The government has allotted around 1,620 hectares in New Clark City for the proposed hub, saying it would generate jobs and help position the Philippines as a regional center for AI development.

But the project has also drawn opposition from farmers’ groups, environmental advocates and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, which have raised concerns over the possible displacement of communities, the projected power and water requirements of data centers, possible mining expansion and the project’s environmental impact.

We like to imagine that corporate cheating is a private quarrel between a company and its regulator. A rule is broken, a fine is computed, a press release is issued and everyone moves on. This picture is comforting and completely wrong. Every serious violation has two victims who are rarely in the room when the penalty is negotiated. The first is the honest competitor. The second is you.

Start with the mathematics of honesty. Following the rules costs money. Insurance premiums, safety training, proper compensation, taxes, permits and respect for the limits of a franchise all show up as expenses on the books of a compliant company. A rival that quietly skips them does not merely save money; it acquires a weapon. It can underprice the honest firm, grow faster and attract capital that chases growth without asking how it was manufactured. Multiply this over a few years and the market begins to punish integrity itself. Economists politely call this a race to the bottom. On the street it has a simpler name. Cheating pays.

The world offers expensive proof, with names attached. Volkswagen admitted to rigging emissions tests on roughly 11 million vehicles, a deception that has cost it more than $30 billion in fines and settlements. But look at what happened before it was caught. For years it sold supposedly clean diesels at prices truthful rivals could not match, taking customers from carmakers that refused to lie, while every city that welcomed those engines breathed air dirtier than the brochures promised.

Wirecard, once celebrated as Germany’s fintech champion, collapsed after auditors could not locate 1.9 billion euros that its books claimed to hold, and while the fiction lasted, honest competitors watched investors reward the fraud with cheaper capital. These are documented facts, admitted in courtrooms and confirmed by regulators, which is precisely why they can be named.

That someone else is not only a rival firm. It is the public, and the public pays three times. It pays first as a consumer, deceived into buying safety, cleanliness or soundness that was never actually there. It pays second as a taxpayer, funding the investigations, the enforcement, the cleanups and sometimes the rescues that follow when the scheme finally collapses. Every peso diverted to that rescue never becomes a hospital bed, medicines in a rural health station, a socialized housing unit, a secure job or the social welfare a family was counting on. And it pays third as a bystander, absorbing the accidents, the pollution and the risks that were transferred, silently and without consent, from a corporate balance sheet onto ordinary lives.

These are not abstractions. The consumer is a mother choosing what she believes is the safer ride home. The taxpayer is a farmer who pays his share with every purchase, then lines up for ayuda that never comes, because the budget meant for his barangay was spent cleaning a mess he never made. The bystander is a child breathing the exhaust of an engine certified on a lie. The public never appears in the quarterly report, yet it is the silent majority shareholder in every violation, holding all of the risk and none of the reward.

We do not need to look abroad to see the pattern. When fleet limits in transport are exceeded, the commuter rides without the protections the law promised and discovers the gap only in the emergency room, where no discount ever covers the bill. When substandard steel or cement finds its way into buildings in a country that sits on fault lines, the savings go to the contractor and the risk goes to every family that sleeps inside. When smuggled agricultural goods flood the market, the farmer who played fair is ruined first, and consumers pay next when supply is cornered and prices are manipulated. In each case the violation is sold to the public as a bargain. In each case the discount is an illusion, because the true cost has simply been moved onto the people least able to carry it, and hidden until it is too late.

This is why strict enforcement is not anti-business. It is the most pro-business and pro-poor policy a government can adopt. A level playing field is the only condition under which honest enterprise can win. When rules are enforced with certainty, the firm that insures its people, trains its workers and pays its taxes stops being the expensive option and becomes the trusted one. Workers go home safe. Taxes become clinics, medicines, housing and pensions instead of settling the bills of the reckless. A modest penalty that always arrives disciplines a market better than a dramatic one that never does.

So the next time a company is caught breaking the rules at scale, resist the framing that this is a technical matter between lawyers and bureaucrats. Ask instead who was forced to compete against the violation, and who unknowingly rode on it, breathed it, ate it or paid for it. The honest company’s burden is our burden too, carried by every commuter, every consumer and every family that assumed the law was watching.

But this burden is not a fact of nature. It is a policy choice, and choices can change. Imagine a Philippines where the cheapest way to compete is to be honest, where the best business strategy is simply to be good. That country is not a fantasy. It is one decision away, waiting for regulators who act, courts that move and citizens who refuse to call cheating a bargain. When we make that choice, the burden lifts, and everyone who carried it finally gets to share the reward.

Adapting an epic poem that is nearly 28 centuries old for the big screen shouldn’t just capture how that world felt like it belonged to another time; it should also explain why the story remains relevant today.

This is something Christopher Nolan understood when he decided to adapt Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ as his follow-up project after his 2023 film ‘Oppenheimer’ earned him his first Oscar for Best Director.

Many people online who insist that the film should be ‘historically accurate’ will definitely not enjoy this film. But those who get it understand why Nolan was deliberate with the creative liberties he took in bringing the sheer scale of this epic poem to life on the big screen. Even if it’s set in a mythical past, Nolan’s interpretation serves as a mirror to our present, reflecting on the cost of war and what it truly means to be a hero.

The film follows Odysseus (Matt Damon) on his 20-year journey back to his home of Ithaca after the Trojan War, as his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) await his return. In his absence, Ithaca has no king, and his prolonged disappearance has led many suitors to try to convince Penelope to marry them and claim the throne, including the sleazy, opportunistic Antinous (Robert Pattinson). While most in Ithaca believe Odysseus is dead, Penelope, Telemachus, and Odysseus’ loyal servant Eumaeus (John Leguizamo) remain convinced that he is still alive.

They were right, though he was barely alive. Together with his crew, Odysseus encounters mythical beings throughout his journey, including the cyclops Polyphemus, the dangerous Laestrygonians, the witch Circe (Samantha Morton), undead soldiers who died in his name, and the seductive goddess Calypso (Charlize Theron). All the while, Gods like Zeus and Poseidon punish Odysseus for his questionable actions, making his journey home even more difficult.

For many who aren’t literature buffs, Homer’s poem is more familiar through the many ways it has been reinterpreted in pop culture, often in fragments. Here, Nolan consolidates the poem’s most important episodes into a three-hour spectacle with a slow but rewarding pace that perfectly embodies the storytelling structure of an epic.

The film unfolds in a partially non-linear structure, thanks to Jennifer Lame’s precise editing that keeps the storytelling engaging throughout its three-hour runtime.

Viewers get to see Odysseus in his most unfiltered form in Nolan’s point of view. He’s a noble, highly principled soldier, a brilliant strategist, and fiercely loyal to his family and crew. But he is also willing to be deceptive and dishonest to achieve his goals, and his immense pride often becomes the greatest obstacle on his journey home. Even when we witness the worst parts of Odysseus, we still root for him as the film reaches its cinematic final act.

Odysseus’ epiphany is aided by Athena (Zendaya), who serves as an invisible moral compass, prompting him to reassess both his morality and the decisions he has made. It says a lot about Nolan’s desire to make Odysseus a complicated hero that honors Homer’s original characterization while remaining ultimately likable enough for audiences to root for because he is capable of holding himself accountable. Had Nolan adhered strictly to Homer’s characterization down to every detail, Odysseus would have been far more difficult for modern audiences to embrace, as many of his flaws simply would not fly with today’s viewers.

It’s important to understand that Nolan’s attention to detail from the ancient text, while adapting what works for his own vision, is necessary for his broader commentary on the cost of war and its lasting effects on both individual morality and society as a whole. It’s definitely not a coincidence that Nolan chose to double down on the anti-war stance he established in ‘Oppenheimer’ with ‘The Odyssey’ as his follow-up, perhaps as a reminder that while war may crown champions in the short term, it also leaves destruction in its wake for generations.

But Nolan puts ‘The Odyssey’ on a more hopeful note, suggesting that society is capable of redemption, much like Odysseus himself. In an interview with Time magazine, he said, ‘You can view cycles pessimistically: History is doomed to repeat itself. But there is also something optimistic about those cycles. There is rebirth and regrowth.’

From there, viewers can better understand the many creative liberties Nolan took in retelling Homer’s poem to the big screen, shaping it into a story with a message that resonates with us today.

This philosophy trickles down to the casting, which complements each character’s interpretation in the film – from casting Black actresses Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Zendaya as Athena, to having the cast use American accents and modern dialogue, to the demystification of Morton’s Circe, and even casting rapper Travis Scott as a bard, whose profession parallels how ‘The Odyssey’ has been passed down through oral storytelling for centuries.

When viewers understand Nolan’s nuanced intention of retelling the epic poem for today’s audience, the backlash demanding ‘historical accuracy’ feels like a futile battle cry against a film that was never trying to be a historical reenactment in the first place.

Of course, Nolan isn’t the only star of his own movie. A committed director is matched by an equally committed ensemble cast, many of whom deliver some of the best performances of their careers.

Damon’s portrayal of Odysseus feels effortlessly nuanced, drawing from both his deep understanding of character-driven storytelling and the action-star credibility he established in the ‘Bourne’ films.

Other highlights include Hathaway as Penelope, who perfectly embodies her patience and longing for her husband’s return; Pattinson as the perfectly pathetic Antinous; Morton as a terrifying yet sympathetic Circe in one of the film’s most memorable sequences; Himesh Patel as Odysseus’ second-in-command Eurylochus, who constantly challenges his leader; and Elliot Page as Sinon, whose haunting portrayal of feeling betrayed gives the film much of its emotional weight.

Also deserving of praise are Holland as the idealistic and devoted Telemachus, Leguizamo as the loyal Eumaeus, and even Zendaya as Athena and Benny Safdie as Agamemnon, despite their relatively limited screen time.

Ludwig Göransson’s sweeping score also feels like a character in its own right, driving the story forward and becoming the cherry on top of an already brilliant film from Nolan.

Perhaps the film’s most impressive achievement is its extensive use of practical effects, which truly sell the immersion of the world Nolan has created – a much-needed reminder that generative AI can never fully capture the craftsmanship and nuance of practical filmmaking.

‘The Odyssey’ is the first feature-length film shot entirely with IMAX 70mm film cameras, as well as Nolan’s first to fully embrace the format after incorporating it into his films beginning with ‘The Dark Knight.’ Because the cameras are notoriously loud and can only record up to three minutes of footage per reel, IMAX engineers and the film crew developed a soundproof blimp around the cameras to allow dialogue scenes to be recorded. The setup also required a mirror system so actors could see one another despite the cameras’ enormous size.

Whatever challenges came with the ambition of becoming the first film shot entirely on IMAX film were well worth it. The cinematography truly captured the immense scale of Homer’s poem while perfectly complementing Nolan’s storytelling ambitions.

There’s a good reason Nolan prefers his films to be experienced in IMAX. It’s not just the towering screen that enhances the film’s epic scale, but also the powerful surround sound that fully immerses audiences in its world. That said, not everyone can afford an IMAX ticket or even has access to an IMAX theater nearby. Fortunately, watching the film on a standard cinema screen still delivers a great experience that doesn’t sacrifice the film’s nuances.

With Nolan’s meticulous direction, stellar performances from the cast, a powerful score, and impressive technical achievements, ‘The Odyssey’ is a theatrical experience that audiences shouldn’t miss while it’s still in theaters. A Nolan film is always best experienced on the big screen, IMAX or not. Five stars out of five.

Power concessionaire Manila Electric Co. warned that changes to rules on system loss charges should consider how they could affect the operations and long-term infrastructure planning of power utilities.

Meralco issued the statement after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on Congress to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, or EPIRA, to stop utilities from passing system loss charges and the value-added tax on those charges to consumers.

‘We believe it is important to recognize that system loss is not unique to any distribution utility but is a common operational aspect of the delivery of electricity, which affects the entire power industry,’ Meralco said.

System loss refers to electricity lost in the process of transmitting and distributing power to consumers, including technical losses from the operation of the grid.

Meralco said that despite continued investments in facility upgrades, network modernization and loss-reducing technologies, a baseline level of technical loss remains unavoidable in running an electric grid.

The company said these operational upgrades have allowed it to keep its system loss below the 6.5% ceiling set by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Impact on utilities

Meralco said it was open to discussions on possible reforms, but said these should also take into account the ability of distribution utilities and electric cooperatives to operate, invest in infrastructure and maintain system resilience.

‘We look forward to productive discussions which we hope will carefully consider the impact of reforms on the operations and sustainability of distribution utilities,’ Meralco said.

During his fifth State of the Nation Address on July 27, Marcos urged Congress to immediately amend EPIRA to bar utility companies from passing system loss charges and the corresponding VAT to consumers.

He said the public should not be made to shoulder the cost of power losses.

DOE’s clarification. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin later clarified that Marcos was proposing the removal of the system loss charge and the VAT applied specifically to system loss, not the entire 12% VAT on consumers’ electricity bills.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo, chair of the Senate committee on energy, has also filed a proposed Senate resolution seeking an inquiry into the policy allowing system loss charges to be passed on to electricity consumers under EPIRA. National pool standouts Rolando Bregente, Jet Hernandez and Chris Remata may enter the National Stroke Play Championship as the players to beat. But a talented cast of rising stars – including proteges and sons of former champions – is poised to challenge the established order when the four-day tournament gets underway Wednesday, July 29, at the Pinatubo course of Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club in Lubao, Pampanga.

Coming off a string of local and international tournaments, Bregente, Hernandez and Remata are expected to spearhead the title chase in the boys’ division. Yet much of the spotlight will also be on Ralph Batican, Mhark Fernando III and John Bernis, whose golfing journeys have been shaped by some of the country’s most accomplished players.

Batican, 14, continues to develop under the guidance of Hall of Famer Frankie Miñoza, who has become so invested in the youngster’s progress that he occasionally serves as his caddie during tournaments.

Fernando III and Bernis, meanwhile, carry championship bloodlines into the event. Fernando is the son of 2009 Philippine Amateur champion Mhark Fernando Sr., while Bernis is the son of 2004 Philippine Amateur titlist Jun Bernis. Former teammates at Canlubang Golf and Country Club, the elder Fernando and Bernis now find themselves cheering for their own sons in one of the country’s premier amateur championships organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

“I am very excited because this is my first time playing in a national tournament,” said Fernando III in Filipino after getting his first look at the Pinatubo layout during Tuesday’s practice round. “I don’t think the length will be a problem, but the greens are already challenging because they’re quite fast.”

The elder Fernando captured the Philippine Amateur crown at Eastridge in 2009, five years after the elder Bernis claimed the title at Villamor Golf Club.

Bernis, now a second-year student at Lyceum of the Philippines University, also welcomed the opportunity to test the Pinatubo layout, located beside the Arayat course within the sprawling Pradera Verde complex.

“I want to win everything that I can win,” said Bernis in Filipino.

This marks only Bernis’ second appearance in a national tournament. He finished runner-up in the 2024 National Match Play Championship after losing to businessman Gary Sales in the final.

Sales’ son, Harry, is likewise in the field, adding another intriguing storyline. The younger Sales has already built an impressive résumé, highlighted by topping a professional qualifying school.

“I gained a lot of experience from that tournament,” said Bernis. “It will definitely help me this week.”

The girls’ division also promises fireworks as Precious Zaragosa, Tashanah Balangauan and Crista Miñoza gear up for a showdown with twins Mona and Lisa Sarines, setting the stage for a compelling clash of power, precision and composure throughout the four-day championship.

An independent lawmaker wants the House of Representatives to look into persistent reports that some gas stations have taken advantage of motorists by hiking oil prices way before the government’s scheduled implementation.

Through House Resolution 1217, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco is urging the committee on energy to investigate the reported premature increases and calling on the Department of Energy to inspect gas stations and impose appropriate penalties on distributors found violating fuel price regulations.

‘Every additional peso to prices of our gasoline matters to our drivers and delivery riders, as this reduces their take-home daily earnings for their families. Gas is never a luxury for them – this is their investment or capital. Therefore, this sacrifices the food they have on their table,’ he said.

Under Republic Act 8479 (Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act), the DOE is mandated to monitor the downstream oil industry and help ensure transparency, fair competition, and consumer protection.

Tiangco also cited Batas Pambansa 33, as amended by Presidential Decree 1865, which penalizes hoarding, profiteering, overpricing and manipulation involving petroleum products.

Prices up anew

Meanwhile, another sharp increase in fuel prices is set to take effect today, with diesel seeing the biggest adjustment of more than P7 per liter.

In separate advisories yesterday, Shell and Seaoil announced upward adjustments of P6.80 per liter for gasoline, P7.30 per liter for diesel and P4.20 per liter for kerosene.

Unioil and Petro Gazz will implement the same price increases, except for kerosene, which they do not offer.

At Jetti stations, gasoline and diesel prices will both rise by P5 per liter today, with another increase of P1.80 per liter for gasoline and P2.30 per liter for diesel set to follow tomorrow.

Following the adjustments, gasoline prices in Metro Manila will range from P76.40 to P106.50 per liter, while the cost of diesel is expected to reach as high as P106.60 per liter.

Kerosene prices will likewise increase, ranging from P103.20 to P138.30 per liter.

‘Supply disruptions linked to the Iran and Ukraine wars have tightened prompt oil supply availability and have caused prices to rise this week,’ Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said.

Bellas said renewed geopolitical tensions raised the risk of delayed crude shipments to Asian refiners, further tightening supplies of diesel and other middle distillates.

‘Gasoline prices surged as strong demand over the peak summer season, coupled with supply constraints, has severely impacted Asian gasoline balances,’ he added.

Completing the lineup is Bonchon’s newest flavor, Golden Crunch-an extra-crispy creation that delivers an even crunchier bite while keeping the juicy, flavorful chicken Bonchon is known for.

With seven crave-worthy flavors to choose from, Bonchon gives an enjoyably different experience every visit. Whether dining alone, sharing a meal with friends, or celebrating with family, there’s always a flavor to match every mood and moment.

To complete your 7 Ways to Chikin, Bonchon will give a free one-pc chicken for every order of the 6-pc chicken rack starting August 7, 2026! That’s an awesome seven-pc to complete your Bonchon fried chicken adventure.

The Senate will prioritize measures aimed at lowering the cost of living, creating jobs and accelerating infrastructure development, alongside the timely passage of the proposed 2027 national budget.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian made the announcement yesterday during his opening address at the start of the second regular session of the 20th Congress.

‘Our work begins with the economy because no vision of national progress can take hold while families struggle to meet their basic needs,’ he said.

He noted that the Development Budget Coordination Committee had lowered the country’s 2026 economic growth forecast to 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent from the earlier five percent to six percent, while the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank also downgraded their projections for the Philippines.

Gatchalian said the Senate’s immediate priority is the approval of the 2027 national budget, describing it as the government’s most powerful tool to stimulate economic activity and fund essential services.

Beyond the budget, Gatchalian identified five legislative priorities: curbing the rising prices of basic commodities, increasing workers’ take-home pay, reducing electricity costs, expanding infrastructure and transportation and strengthening job security through support for micro, small and medium enterprises.

To address food prices, the Senate will prioritize amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law to ensure adequate rice supply, stabilize prices and protect farmers’ incomes.

Gatchalian also pushed for the proposed Ginhawa Bill, which seeks to increase workers’ take-home pay by exempting individuals earning up to P400,000 annually from income tax while raising the tax-free ceiling for bonuses and removing taxes on overtime pay, holiday pay, night-shift differential, hazard pay and service charges.

On energy costs, he said the Senate would prioritize the proposed ERC Strengthening Act to improve regulation of the power industry and amendments to the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act to increase transparency in fuel pricing.

Fiber broadband and technology provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. ranked as the country’s best internet service provider with fastest internet and unrivaled latency score based on Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence report for the first half of 2026.

Ookla named Converge FiberX, the company’s flagship broadband product, as the ‘Best Internet,’ ‘Fastest Internet’ and ‘Best Fixed Latency’ for January to June 2026.

Converge dominated all major fixed-broadband metrics, recording a Speed Score of 61.86 and a Speedtest Connectivity Score of 73.14.

The Speed Score combines download speed, upload speed and latency to reflect typical user experience, while the Connectivity Score evaluates the broader connected experience across high-bandwidth activities like video streaming.

The network also registered an industry-leading Latency Score of 14.44. Lower latency indicates faster network response times, a critical metric for gaming, video conferencing and real-time enterprise applications.

‘We take pride in providing the best broadband service to our over three million subscribers,’ Converge chief operations officer Benjamin Azada said.

‘Being awarded the fastest provider for four straight years, best ISP for three years and now confirmed to have the best latency, is a testament to our consistent efforts to deliver superior performance,’ he said.

For consumers, Converge said these independent metrics translate directly to daily digital quality of life.

‘People may not think about network scores, but they experience the difference in every video call, stream and online transaction. Independent testing makes that difference visible and gives customers a credible basis for understanding real-world performance,’ Orange Ramirez, Converge vice president and head of brand and marketing, said.

Converge is actively expanding its digital infrastructure by continuing to invest heavily in network capacity and technology services to deliver meaningful internet solutions to households, businesses and public institutions across the country.

President Marcos should keep the 2027 national budget clean and transparent and free of congressional insertions, according to former finance chiefs who also urged him to exercise his veto power more.

In an interview with Bilyonaryo, Monetary Board member and former finance secretary Benjamin Diokno said Marcos must send a strong signal and say to both supporters and critics: ‘This is my budget. Don’t mess with this budget. I want this to be a clean and transparent budget.’

The government is proposing a record P7.2-trillion national budget next year, up six percent from this year’s allocation of P6.793 trillion.

Congress has repeatedly increased the budget beyond the executive proposal in recent years, creating what Diokno called ‘the source of corruption.’

‘I will exercise my line-item veto power. That’s an awesome power of the president. Not even the US president has that power, line-item veto power,’ he added.

Diokno warned that the expanded National Tax Allotment, now at 40 percent of national tax collections, remains underutilized by local government units and that the Local Government Support Fund has become some sort of ‘pork barrel.’

‘For example, some LGUs are supposed to spend 20 percent of their budget for capital projects, but most of them don’t do that because they’re waiting for the congressman or the senators to help them instead of spending their own money,’ he said.

Meanwhile, he said the ‘state of the economy is very uncertain’ and the 6.5 percent to eight percent growth is no longer possible, given the current trajectory.

‘We’ll probably hit something like maybe five, six percent. As long as we can continue to grow at that rate for the next 20 years, that’s more than enough,’ he added.

Diokno said he remains optimistic that the government’s revised 3.5 to 4.5 percent growth target for 2026 is achievable, as the US-Iran war will soon be over.

In a separate interview with ‘MoneyTalks’ on One News, Arroyo-era finance secretary Gary Teves urged Marcos to scrutinize insertions during the legislative process and to monitor implementation closely.

‘When the budget is approved by Congress, scrutinize it very carefully and ensure that there are not too many inserted items there. And to the extent that they might do that, then exercise his veto powers more rigorously,’ he said.

During budget implementation, Marcos should rigorously monitor spending, spend more time in the provinces and ensure the budget is being followed carefully.