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.

Open the shareable survey page →
View previous survey results →
Checking your reader session…

MCT DAILY BRIEF

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

A motorist holds a fuel nozzle at a Philippine gas station.

Filipinos begin Tuesday with another sharp fuel-price increase, a peso that has fallen to a new reported closing low, and the results of the first Bangsamoro parliamentary election still being completed. There is also a small but real change coming to electric bills: the allowable system-loss charge remains, but the VAT attached to it is being removed. In the Senate, a wider school-nutrition program has moved forward, although it is not yet law. Here is what each development changes and what still needs to happen.

1

FUEL PRICES RISE BY MORE THAN ₱4 A LITER

Fuel companies raised pump prices on Tuesday after the Department of Energy placed this week’s maximum increases at ₱5.68 per liter for gasoline, ₱4.31 for diesel and ₱4.62 for kerosene. The actual adjustment can vary by company. Jetti, for example, announced ₱5.60 for gasoline and ₱4.30 for diesel, while Seaoil matched the DOE figures.

The DOE numbers are the maximum increases it reported for the week, not proof that every station added exactly the same amount at the same time. At the DOE figure, a 10-liter gasoline purchase costs ₱56.80 more than before the increase. Twenty liters of diesel costs ₱86.20 more. Together with last week’s increase, gasoline has risen by ₱10.37 per liter, diesel by ₱9.49 and kerosene by ₱10.20 in only two weeks.

This does not automatically authorize a jeepney or bus fare increase. Transport groups may ask for relief or file a petition, but fares change only through the proper regulatory process. The immediate effect is on motorists, drivers and businesses buying fuel today. The wider effect on fares and food prices depends on how long high oil prices and a weak peso last.

WHAT TO WATCH

Company-specific pump notices, any formal LTFRB fare petition or order, and whether next week brings another increase rather than a partial rollback.

2

THE FIRST BARMM PARLIAMENTARY VOTE MOVES TO COUNTING AND CANVASSING

Bangsamoro voters went to the polls on Monday to elect the region’s first regular parliament. The vote is a major step from an appointed transition authority to an elected regional government, but election day also exposed serious security and ballot problems that cannot be dismissed as minor details.

Comelec placed Cotabato City and Maluso, Basilan under its control. In Maluso, pre-shaded ballots were found in 36 precincts, forcing the printing of replacements and delaying voting. Reports attributed to Comelec put the election-related toll at four dead and either 18 or 19 injured; the higher figure included a separate explosion or suspected-IED injury. An earlier police count was lower, so the figures should not be blended as if they were one final official count.

The election cannot yet be judged by the percentage of results electronically transmitted. Transmission is not voter turnout, a completed canvass or an official proclamation. Those are different stages. The next checks are whether delayed voting was completed, whether the replacement ballots were properly accounted for, and whether the canvass records withstand scrutiny.

WHAT TO WATCH

Comelec’s final incident report, the completed Maluso vote, official turnout, canvass certificates and signed proclamations, not circulating screenshots of unofficial tallies.

3

VAT IS BEING REMOVED FROM THE ALLOWABLE SYSTEM-LOSS CHARGE

The Bureau of Internal Revenue has confirmed that the allowable system-loss charge, within the cap set by the Energy Regulatory Commission, will no longer be included in the gross sales used to compute VAT. This should remove the 12 percent VAT previously added to that part of an electric bill.

The system-loss charge itself is not disappearing. Consumers will still pay the allowable cost of electricity lost while power moves through the system. The change removes the tax on that approved, separately identified amount. It does not erase the larger generation, transmission and distribution charges that make up most of a bill.

The circular covers transactions from its effectivity onward and requires the allowable system-loss amount to be shown separately on a bill, invoice or similar document. It does not create a general refund for VAT paid in previous months. It also does not set one guaranteed month when every household will see the change, because the timing depends on the regulatory timetable and each utility’s billing system.

WHAT TO WATCH

The first bills showing system loss as a separate line without VAT, the ERC’s implementation instructions and whether utilities explain the change clearly instead of promising a larger reduction than the rule can deliver.

4

THE PESO CLOSES AT A NEW REPORTED LOW OF ₱62.86 TO THE DOLLAR

The peso closed Monday at ₱62.86 to the dollar in the Bankers Association of the Philippines interbank spot market, according to market reports. That was 18 centavos weaker than Friday’s ₱62.68 close and was reported as a new record low for the same closing measure. The currency also touched about ₱62.875 during trading.

Those numbers should not be mixed with the Bangko Sentral’s reference rate, which is a different measure, or with the day’s lowest intraday trade. “Record low” must refer to the peso’s value under the same market and closing method.

A weaker peso makes every dollar-priced import more expensive in local currency. Oil is the clearest example, but the effect can also reach imported food, equipment and raw materials. That does not mean Monday’s exchange-rate move caused Tuesday’s fuel increase. Pump prices reflect earlier movements in international oil prices and foreign exchange, along with company pricing and inventory timing.

WHAT TO WATCH

Whether the peso recovers or sets another closing low, how the Bangko Sentral describes the pressure, and whether sustained weakness begins appearing in inflation forecasts rather than only in market commentary.

5

THE SENATE APPROVES A WIDER SCHOOL-NUTRITION PROGRAM

The Senate approved Senate Bill 2272 on third and final reading by a vote of 19-0-0. The measure seeks to expand the country’s school-nutrition system, including universal feeding for public-school pupils from kindergarten to Grade 3 and a broader approach that follows nutrition needs across different stages of childhood.

This is not yet a new feeding entitlement that schools can deliver immediately. Republic Act 11037 remains the current law. It primarily targets undernourished children and requires at least 120 feeding days. The Senate bill and the House-approved measure are separate versions that still need to be reconciled before a final bill can reach the President.

Reported Senate provisions include stronger local food procurement and faster payment for suppliers, but the final obligations must be checked against the exact reconciled text. Even after enactment, wider coverage will require money, kitchens or preparation capacity, reliable local suppliers, health records and clear responsibility among agencies. A unanimous Senate vote establishes political support, not instant implementation.

WHAT TO WATCH

The final version agreed on by both chambers, the list of covered children, the money set aside, the implementing rules, safeguards for local suppliers and the date when actual meals, not promises, begin reaching additional pupils.

BOTTOM LINE

Today’s most immediate hit is at the fuel pump, while the weaker peso keeps the risk of higher import costs alive. The VAT change on system loss offers limited relief, but it should not be sold as the removal of system loss itself. In BARMM, the historic vote now faces the harder test of a credible canvass after violence and compromised ballots. The school-nutrition bill is promising, but its value will be measured only after the chambers agree on a final law and government shows that it can fund and deliver the meals.

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