FIVE THINGS TO KNOW…

Short explainers published throughout the day.

10:45 PM7-minute read

ABOUT THE OCTOBER WATER-RATE INCREASES

Metro Manila households served by Maynilad and Manila Water will see slightly higher water charges beginning October 1. The announced increases are small for many residential customers, but the figures vary by concessionaire and consumption level. That makes it easy to misunderstand a notice expressed only in centavos per cubic meter.

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7:21 AM6-minute read

ABOUT THE NOTE HANDED TO GIBO TEODORO IN SEOUL

Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. was answering questions at the Seoul Defense Dialogue on September 8 when a man handed him a note. He read it aloud, challenged its rejection of the 2016 South China Sea ruling and objected to being interrupted that way.

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9:55 AM8-minute read

ABOUT EL NIÑO AND PREPARING FOR LESS RAIN

It can be raining outside while PAGASA warns about El Niño. That can sound confusing when the immediate problem is a wet road or a flooded field. The two warnings describe different periods: the weather happening now and the rainfall conditions that may develop over the coming months.

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5:30 AM8-minute read

ABOUT THE NEW ARREST WARRANTS AGAINST ZALDY CO, MARTIN ROMUALDEZ AND TWO OTHERS

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the arrest of Zaldy Co, Martin Romualdez and two other accused in the plunder case filed on September 7. By Monday evening, authorities had served Romualdez's warrant and carried out booking procedures at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan. His arrest is a confirmed development; it does not establish that his three co-accused are also in custody.

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3:15 PM8-minute read

ABOUT THE PLUNDER CASE AGAINST MARTIN ROMUALDEZ

The Office of the Ombudsman filed a plunder case against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Sandiganbayan on September 7 over his alleged involvement in flood-control kickbacks. The accusations have now reached the court that will handle the criminal case. Romualdez denies wrongdoing and remains presumed innocent.

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1:18 PM7-minute read

ABOUT THE NEW SWS POVERTY NUMBERS

Self-rated poverty and food poverty declined in June, but the figures also show how many Filipino families remain under pressure and why lower household budgets do not necessarily mean life became cheaper.

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2:02 PM11-minute read

ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S SOCIAL MEDIA SAFETY ACT

House Bill No. 9965 would bar children below 13 from having social media accounts, require parental consent for users aged 13 to 17, regulate platform algorithms, and impose fines reaching P50 million. It is still being deliberated in the House.

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12:02 PM7-minute read

ABOUT THE SEALED BIR BOX

Marcos authorized the BIR to comply with the Senate subpoena. That did not open the records to the public or prove the unexplained-wealth allegation.

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MCT READER PULSE · MCT-PULSE-2026-008

MCT READER SURVEY

Senator-judges who are absent from the impeachment trial—including those on medical leave, in hiding, or detained—should still be allowed to cast a vote. Do you agree?Ang mga senator-judge na wala sa impeachment trial—kabilang ang naka-medical leave, nagtatago, o nakadetine—ay dapat payagan pa ring bumoto. Sang-ayon ka ba?

Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo asked the impeachment court to clarify who may validly vote and how absent members affect the constitutional two-thirds requirement. He cited one senator on medical leave abroad, one in hiding, and two in detention. The court had not resolved those questions when this survey opened. This survey asks for your view; it does not state what the Constitution or the impeachment rules require.

Background: Senate impeachment records, INQUIRER.net, and MindaNews.

This is an informal survey of verified MCT readers who choose to participate. It is not nationally representative.

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MCT DAILY BRIEF

No fake news. No noise. Just the facts you need.

A Bangsamoro voter places a ballot into a ballot box at a polling place.

The first Bangsamoro parliamentary election opens under tight security, commuters face a two-day strike, and families in Coron await identification of the dead.

Good morning. Voters in the Bangsamoro are choosing their first regular parliament today, while election officials deal with a vote-buying allegation against a former Comelec chair who is now a candidate. Commuters may also feel the effects of a two-day transport strike as drivers protest another round of fuel increases. In Coron, the scale of the June Aster tragedy has become clearer, but many families are still waiting for identified remains. Congress begins floor scrutiny of the proposed 2027 national budget this week, and the country’s foreign debt has risen from its March level. Here is what has changed, why it matters and what comes next.

1

1. BARMM VOTES TODAY AS COMELEC ORDERS SHERIFF ABAS TO ANSWER A VOTE-BUYING ALLEGATION

About 2.4 million voters are expected to help choose the Bangsamoro’s first regular parliament today. The election will produce an 80-seat chamber that replaces the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority after years of delay. It is not an ordinary election for governor. Voters choose district representatives and political parties, while eight seats are reserved for designated sectors. The new parliament will later elect the chief minister.

Security forces are on full alert across the region. Nearly 9,500 police officers had been deployed before election day, with the military, Comelec and local authorities coordinating around polling places and election materials. Officials have also warned against vote-buying, intimidation and false information about the voting machines.

One integrity question now involves former Comelec chair Sheriff Abas, who is running for a parliamentary district seat in Cotabato City. Comelec issued a show-cause order dated September 12 after a social-media post allegedly showed a sample ballot together with three ₱1,000 bills. Abas is being required to explain. The image and the order do not by themselves prove that he bought votes, and Comelec has not yet announced a final finding.

WHAT TO WATCH

Watch for verified reports on whether precincts open normally, turnout, security incidents and the transmission and canvassing of results. Comelec’s action after Abas submits his answer will matter more than online accusations. Any claim of fraud should be tied to a complaint, evidence or an official ruling, not a viral post alone.

2

2. A TWO-DAY TRANSPORT STRIKE BEGINS AS DRIVERS PROTEST HIGHER FUEL COSTS

Manibela has called a transport strike for today and Tuesday as drivers brace for another fuel-price increase. Organizers say several jeepney, app-based transport and motorcycle-taxi groups plan to take part. Other organizations and individual drivers may make their own decisions, so the actual disruption can vary widely by city and route.

The protest follows steep pump-price increases last week. Fuel companies are expected to announce another adjustment for September 15, but the final peso-per-liter figures were not yet confirmed at this morning’s cutoff. Manibela is asking the government to review petroleum taxes and oil policy and to provide more immediate relief to drivers.

For commuters, an announced nationwide strike does not automatically mean every jeepney will stop. Some routes may operate normally while others lose vehicles or develop long lines. The effect will depend on participation, replacement rides and local traffic conditions. Drivers, meanwhile, are arguing that higher diesel and gasoline costs are eating into earnings before they can bring money home.

WHAT TO WATCH

Check verified route conditions before leaving, especially local government, school and transport-agency advisories. The two figures that matter most today are how many vehicles actually stop operating and where passengers are stranded. On Tuesday, compare the oil companies’ final price notices with the government’s announced relief measures, not with early estimates alone.

3

3. THE JUNE ASTER DEATH TOLL REACHES 76, BUT MOST FAMILIES STILL NEED IDENTIFICATION

Authorities have now confirmed 76 deaths from the fire aboard the MV June Aster off Coron, Palawan. Forty-three people survived and 13 remained missing in the latest count available this morning. The ferry carried 132 people, according to the corrected accounting, after two people whose names appeared on the original 134-person manifest said they had not boarded.

The number changed sharply after teams recovered dozens of bodies from the burned vessel on September 12. Recovery, however, is not the end of the work. Five of the dead had been formally identified in the latest report, leaving many families to wait before remains can be released and brought home. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered agencies to speed up identification and assistance.

The cause of the September 9 fire has not been established. One survivor described a possible fire in the cargo hold, but that account is not yet an official finding. Investigators are also trying to locate and obtain a clear account from the captain, who was reported to have survived but did not appear on the published survivor list.

WHAT TO WATCH

The next meaningful updates are the number of formally identified victims, the search for the 13 still missing, and a reconciled list of everyone aboard. After that, the public needs the findings on the fire’s origin, the crew’s response, safety equipment and any responsibility of the operator or regulators. An investigation, not speculation, must establish fault.

4

4. THE PROPOSED ₱7.2-TRILLION 2027 BUDGET MOVES TO HOUSE FLOOR DEBATES

The House of Representatives is scheduled to begin plenary deliberations on the proposed ₱7.2-trillion national budget on Tuesday. Committee hearings ended on September 8. The next stage moves the spending plan to the full chamber, where lawmakers can question agency budgets, defend allocations and offer amendments.

This matters because the National Expenditure Program submitted by the executive branch is still a proposal. It does not become the 2027 budget merely because agencies have completed their hearings. Spending for classrooms, hospitals, transport, cash aid, infrastructure and debt payments can still be changed before the House passes its version and sends it to the Senate.

House leaders say they want second-reading approval by October 6 and third-reading approval by October 9. A fast calendar is not automatically good or bad. The real question is whether major changes are visible, explained and debated before lawmakers vote. A line added late can matter as much as an agency’s headline allocation.

WHAT TO WATCH

Follow the published debate schedule, livestreams, proposed amendments and voting records. Pay particular attention to changes made after the agency hearings and to large lump sums whose projects or recipients are not yet clear. The October 6 and 9 targets will show whether the House keeps its timetable without shortening scrutiny of disputed items.

5

5. PHILIPPINE EXTERNAL DEBT RISES TO $154.9 BILLION

The country’s external debt stood at $154.932 billion at the end of June, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data. That was about 5.1 percent higher than the $147.35 billion recorded at the end of March. Of the June total, roughly $98.5 billion belonged to the public sector and $56.4 billion to private borrowers.

External debt means money Philippine residents, companies or government institutions owe to lenders outside the country. It is not the same as the national government’s entire debt, and it is not a bill divided among individual Filipinos. Still, foreign-currency borrowing deserves attention because payments can become more expensive in peso terms when the peso weakens.

The debt was equivalent to about 31.6 percent of the economy, up from 30 percent in March. That rise does not by itself prove the country is close to default. The risk also depends on when loans fall due, how much is fixed or floating interest, the country’s dollar reserves and whether export and investment earnings can cover payments.

WHAT TO WATCH

Watch the BSP’s next figures on debt service, short-term maturities and foreign reserves, along with movements in the peso. The most useful test is not whether the headline total rises once, but whether foreign obligations keep growing faster than the economy and the country’s capacity to earn the currency needed to repay them.

BOTTOM LINE

Today’s most immediate questions are practical: whether Bangsamoro voters can cast and count their ballots safely, which transport routes lose vehicles, and when families in Coron receive confirmed identities instead of changing totals. The budget and foreign-debt stories move more slowly, but both involve decisions that will shape public services and future costs. In every case, the next verified record matters more than a confident announcement: official election results, actual route conditions, identified victims, visible budget amendments and complete BSP measures of the country’s ability to pay.

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