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FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

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 DAILY BRIEF

Vince Dizon at a Senate hearing, with the September 27 MCT Daily Brief headline.

Good morning. Vince Dizon says DPWH has found no ghost projects in Taguig, while Ping Lacson says the department’s own inspection records challenge that statement. Rodrigo Duterte’s defense team wants the ICC prosecution to reduce its evidence submissions. Also in today’s brief: CHED’s proposed recognition of students’ lived names, the coming voter-registration period, and the Philippines’ Asian Games results.

1

DIZON SAYS NO GHOST PROJECTS IN TAGUIG; LACSON POINTS TO DPWH’S OWN RECORDS

During the September 25 Senate budget hearing, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon told Senator Alan Peter Cayetano that the department’s ongoing investigation had found no ghost projects in Taguig. DPWH Undersecretary Ricardo Bernabe III said the agency had listed 107 projects in the city, all with reported accomplishments.

Senator Ping Lacson challenged that statement. His office said DPWH inspection reports described projects declared completed whose physical presence inspectors could not conclusively establish. Lacson also cited an agency analysis flagging potentially similar billing photographs across different contracts.

That qualification needs to stay in the reporting. An inspection that cannot establish a project’s physical presence leaves a serious verification question; it does not, by itself, conclusively establish that the project never existed.

But Dizon’s assurance also needs a documented explanation. How does DPWH reconcile reported accomplishments with the unresolved inspection findings Lacson describes?

Residents paying taxes and living with flooding deserve a project-by-project answer. A list showing accomplishment figures cannot explain, on its own, whether inspectors located the work, whether it matched the contract, or whether the government paid correctly.

WHAT TO WATCH

Watch for DPWH’s response to the specific inspection reports and the release of matching contracts, locations, inspection findings and payment records. Those documents can establish whether the officials are discussing the same projects and why their conclusions differ.

2

DUTERTE’S DEFENSE WANTS THE ICC PROSECUTION TO CUT ITS EVIDENCE SUBMISSIONS

Rodrigo Duterte’s defense team has asked ICC Trial Chamber III to limit the prosecution’s evidence to 10,000 items. According to reporting on the September 25 motion, defense counsel Peter Haynes said disclosures had grown from 5,275 items during the confirmation phase to 62,130.

The defense argues that reviewing more than 320,000 pages and over 1,000 audiovisual materials leaves insufficient preparation time before the scheduled November 30 trial. It also alleges duplicate documents, inaccurate descriptions, unreadable files and recordings without translations or transcripts. These are the defense’s objections, rather than findings already accepted by the judges.

For families following the case over alleged drug-war killings, the request concerns how evidence will be organized, reviewed and presented. It does not establish Duterte’s guilt or innocence.

The number of disclosed items cannot tell readers how many are relevant, reliable or ultimately admissible. Equally, the defense’s complaint about volume does not establish that the prosecution’s case is defective. Those questions require examination of the material and the court’s decisions.

WHAT TO WATCH

Watch for the prosecution’s response and the chamber’s ruling on the requested cap and preparation arrangements. Any decision affecting the evidence timetable could also affect whether the November 30 trial opening proceeds as scheduled.

3

CHED IS OPEN TO RECOGNIZING STUDENTS’ LIVED NAMES

CHED’s readiness to issue a policy recognizing LGBTQIA+ students’ lived names was relayed during House budget deliberations. A lived name is the name a person uses, which may differ from the name recorded on their birth certificate.

The discussion cited Polytechnic University of the Philippines’ recognition of lived names during graduation ceremonies. Official records remain an issue because schools match identifying information with Philippine Statistics Authority records.

For students, the practical questions concern classroom introductions, school systems and graduation announcements. A usable policy would need to explain where a lived name can appear and how the school will maintain consistent official records.

The reported willingness to issue a policy does not mean a nationwide rule has already taken effect.

WHAT TO WATCH

Watch for the actual CHED issuance, its coverage and implementation instructions. Students and registrars need written guidance explaining what changes and what documentation remains required.

4

COMELEC EXPECTS VOTER REGISTRATION TO REOPEN IN NOVEMBER

Comelec says voter registration for the May 2028 national and local elections is expected to reopen in November, with an eight-month registration period. Chairperson George Garcia said the commission expects more Filipinos to register during that window.

For someone registering for the first time or checking a registration concern, advance notice gives time to prepare. It also helps families avoid treating registration as something to do only when election campaigning begins.

However, an announcement of the coming period is not a complete instruction sheet. Applicants still need the official schedule, requirements and information from their local election office.

WHAT TO WATCH

Look for Comelec’s detailed registration announcement before making a trip. Confirm the opening date, office hours, required identification and procedure relevant to your application.

5

THE PHILIPPINES’ ASIAN GAMES MEDAL COUNT REACHES TEN

The Philippines had collected ten medals as of September 26 after weightlifter Albert Ian Delos Santos added a bronze. The tally also includes Karl Eldrew Yulo’s horizontal-bar bronze. That count is a dated snapshot, rather than a prediction of where the team will finish.

The men’s volleyball team is scheduled to begin its Asian Games campaign against South Korea on Sunday.

For supporters following several sports, event-specific results are more useful than a medal total circulating without a date. A team can still be competing even when it has not appeared in the medal table.

WHAT TO WATCH

Follow the Philippines–South Korea volleyball result and updated official competition results. Check the reporting time attached to any medal tally before sharing it.

BOTTOM LINE

DPWH needs to explain how its assurance about Taguig fits the inspection records being cited against it. At the ICC, judges must assess the defense’s evidence-management objections while protecting a fair process. In both cases, readers should be able to follow the records and decisions behind the public statements, rather than being asked to accept whichever official sounds most certain.

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