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LATEST COMMENTARY

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FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

3-minute read

WHY WINNING DOES NOT END A VOTE-BUYING CASE

If a candidate has already won and been proclaimed, can a vote-buying case still cost them the position? The Supreme Court’s latest announcement on two Candijay, Bohol candidates shows why the election result does not settle everything.

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5-minute read

HOW THE NEXT CHIEF JUSTICE IS CHOSEN

The Judicial and Bar Council has finished interviewing candidates to succeed Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who is due to retire on November 6. GMA News reported the completed interviews on October 27. The interviews are one stage of a process that gives the President a choice, but also sets limits on who can be chosen and how the appointment is made.

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4-minute read

ABOUT COMPENSATION FOR WORK-RELATED HEAT ILLNESS

If someone becomes ill while working in extreme heat, the problem can continue after the shift ends: medical bills, missed work and uncertainty about where to ask for help. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced guidelines on October 23 for heat-illness claims under the existing Employees' Compensation Program (ECP).

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5-minute read

ABOUT BATO DELA ROSA’S ₱50-MILLION BOUNTY

The DILG announced a ₱50-million bounty for Senator Bato dela Rosa’s capture on October 23. The announcement came after months of talk about a possible reward—and days after Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said authorities knew dela Rosa was in Mindanao and were negotiating for his turnover.

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Afternoon6-minute read

ABOUT THE OVP’S 2027 BUDGET AFTER A 16-MINUTE SENATE HEARING

The Office of the Vice President’s proposed budget moved through a Senate panel today in 16 minutes. Vice President Sara Duterte was absent; her chief of staff answered for the office. Yesterday’s MCT explainer looked at parliamentary courtesy. Today’s question is what that short hearing actually did to the spending plan, and what it left for the Senate to examine.

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Afternoon6-minute read

ABOUT THE EDSA BUSWAY’S 2027 BUDGET GAP

The Department of Transportation is again asking Congress to fund the EDSA Busway. Its original ₱1.756 billion request received zero in the administration’s proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program. A House budget panel later inserted ₱75 million. Those two statements describe different stages of the same budget process. Neither tells us yet what Congress will finally approve.

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Afternoon7-minute read

ABOUT DECLARING AN AMBASSADOR PERSONA NON GRATA

Several lawmakers want Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan sent home. The Chinese Embassy has challenged them to follow through. That exchange leaves an ordinary reader with a reasonable question: if our own officials say an ambassador should leave, why is he still here?

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7:23 AM5-minute read

ABOUT LINO CAYETANO AND THE CHANGE AT THE PCO

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on October 11 that Lino Cayetano would replace Dave Gomez at the Presidential Communications Office. He said Gomez had been bypassed by the Commission on Appointments and that the change would be formalized when they returned from Singapore.

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6:10 PM4-minute read

ABOUT THE DISPUTE OVER CHANGING THE ORDER OF IMPEACHMENT WITNESSES

The argument at Thursday’s impeachment hearing was about which witness the prosecution could present next. It began with an absent lawyer and became a dispute over preparation and notice. Understanding the exchange helps explain why a courtroom can pause even when the parties, documents and another potential witness are already in the building.

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3:01 PM3-minute read

ABOUT MARK VILLAR’S MOVE TO THE SENATE MAJORITY

Senator Mark Villar has formally left the Senate minority and joined the majority. The October 8 move strengthens the bloc supporting the chamber’s leadership and gives Villar two significant positions. Its implications for Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, however, require more than counting political allies.

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9:56 AM4-minute read

ABOUT THE MANAGER’S CHECKS AND THE QUESTIONS OVER SARA DUTERTE’S SALN

A bank balance can fall even when the value represented by the money has not disappeared. That distinction sits behind the prosecution’s questions about manager’s checks in Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial. To understand the October 7 testimony, we need to follow the instrument, the person entitled to its value and the declaration of assets for the relevant year.

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9:08 PM3-minute read

ABOUT WHAT COA’S REJECTION OF THE OVP APPEAL MEANS

COA has rejected the request to reconsider the ₱73.287-million disallowance involving the Office of the Vice President’s December 2022 confidential expenses. The October 5 resolution became public on October 7. Its significance is easier to understand when the amount, the audit finding and the available legal remedies are kept separate.

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7:47 AM3-minute read

ABOUT WHAT BANK SECRECY PROTECTS IN AN IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

The arguments over bank records in Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial involve several protections. The privacy of a peso deposit, the protection of a foreign-currency deposit, and the confidentiality of a report sent to the AMLC come from different rules. Understanding those differences helps explain what the court has allowed and what remains in dispute.

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8:43 AM8-minute read

ABOUT THE AMLC RECORDS IN SARA DUTERTE’S IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

₱4.4 billion is a figure that can dominate a conversation before anyone asks what it counts. AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura presented that approximate total in the Senate impeachment court on October 5, covering reported transactions involving Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio. He also explained that a bank correction had reduced the earlier figure of ₱6.7 billion.

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6:44 PM5-minute read

ABOUT THE COINS.PH CASH-IN RESTRICTION AND WHAT USERS SHOULD CHECK

If you use Coins.ph to receive money or pay bills, a failed cash-in can disrupt plans for the day. Coins.ph has announced that some incoming peso services are temporarily unavailable following a BSP directive to improve its internal controls. Its advisory also identifies services that existing customers can still use.

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12:00 PM5-minute read

ABOUT THE PROPOSED RULES ON SECONDHAND PHONES

A secondhand phone can put a useful device within reach of someone who cannot afford a new one. The problem comes when the buyer has no clear information about where it came from, what condition it is in, or who will fix it if it fails.

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8:35 PM6-minute read

ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT’S DECISION ON THE IMPEACHMENT VOTE THRESHOLD

The Supreme Court dismissed three petitions on September 30 challenging how the Senate impeachment court would count the votes needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte. The dismissal leaves the Senate’s September 23 ruling in place, but it needs to be read carefully. A case can be dismissed because it does not meet the requirements for the Court to hear it, without settling whether the challenged action is constitutional.

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6:12 AM6-minute read

ABOUT WHAT BASTE DUTERTE SHOULD HAVE CHECKED AS MAYOR

Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte told the Senate impeachment court on September 29 that he had been unfamiliar with GenCorp Industries Inc. before it came up in the proceedings. He also said he did not know about Vice President Sara Duterte’s declared business interest in the company.

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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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OCTOBER INFLATION REACHES 7.8%; U.S.-BOUND TRAVELERS FACE NEW BOARDING REQUIREMENT

Rice drying on a roadside beside fields in Cabanatuan in a 2017 archival photograph.
Rice drying beside a road in Cabanatuan, Philippines, May 10, 2017. Archival photograph by Chief Petty Officer Sara Muir / U.S. Coast Guard, via DVIDS. Cropped and resized. Public domain. This photograph illustrates rice production and processing; it does not document November 2026 prices, current stocks, or a shortage. The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement. DVIDS photo source · Public-domain reuse and non-endorsement terms

MCT DAILY BRIEF | NOVEMBER 5, 2026

1

OCTOBER PRICES ROSE 7.8% FROM A YEAR EARLIER

Philippine inflation rose to 7.8% in October from 7.2% in September, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on November 5. Transport costs were the main reason the annual rate increased. PSA's October release.

Transport prices were 20.1% higher than a year earlier, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose 9.3%. Those expenses can leave a household with less to spend at the market even before it buys food.

Food prices rose 6.4% from a year earlier, slower than September's 6.8%. Rice went the other way: its annual increase reached 20.7%, up from 20.3%.

The 7.8% figure compares the overall price basket with October last year. A family's own increase depends on what it buys; the national figure does not mean every item rose by that amount in a month.

2

U.S.-BOUND AIR TRAVELERS MUST CONFIRM NO RECENT DRC PRESENCE

People boarding flights from another country into or through the United States must now confirm that they have not been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during the previous 21 days. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) introduced the requirement to reduce the risk of Ebola entering the country. CDC's travel instructions.

The rule took effect for departures at or after 12:59 p.m. Manila time on November 4. It covers U.S. citizens and children, as well as other travelers and aircraft crew.

An airport connection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo counts even if the traveler stayed on the plane. Airlines must refuse boarding without the required statement unless the person has a U.S. government exemption.

Passengers should check how their airline collects the form. An authorized adult can sign for a child, but the airline needs a record for each person. The signed order runs until December 18 unless it is changed or withdrawn sooner.

3

OVERNIGHT SUBWAY MACHINERY MOVEMENT AFFECTS PASIG ROADS

Drivers using several Pasig roads at night face possible delays under a Department of Transportation advisory for moving subway machinery, running through 5 a.m. on November 7. Radyo Pilipinas reports the advisory's end time. The department scheduled a tunnel boring machine's transfer from the stockyard on Doña Julia Vargas Avenue to Shaw Boulevard Station, according to the Philippine Information Agency.

The advisory's route schedule lists Doña Julia Vargas Avenue from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.; E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue/C-5 from midnight to 3 a.m.; Pasig Boulevard from 1 to 3 a.m.; Capt. Henry Javier Street from 2 to 4 a.m.; and Meralco Avenue from 3 to 5 a.m. NET25's report of the route schedule.

The department advised motorists to use alternate routes. People heading to work overnight or returning home before dawn should check traffic along these roads before leaving; the notice warns of slowdowns and does not announce blanket road closures.

4

RICE STOCKS RECOVERED FROM SEPTEMBER BUT REMAINED BELOW LAST YEAR

The Philippines had an estimated 2.16 million metric tons of rice in stock on October 1, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority's November 5 release. That was 13.2% more than on September 1, but 8.3% less than a year earlier. PSA's rice and corn inventory report.

The increase was uneven. Commercial stocks grew 31.7% from September, while household stocks barely changed, rising 0.3%. Rice held in National Food Authority (NFA) depositories fell 3.2% over the same period.

Commercial holdings made up nearly half the total, while NFA stocks accounted for 12.9%. The national inventory therefore includes rice held by businesses and families; it cannot be read as the amount sitting in government warehouses.

The figures describe October 1. Harvests, deliveries and purchases since then will have changed what is available, so this report alone cannot establish today's supply at a neighborhood store.

SOURCES

  1. PSA's October releasehttps://psa.gov.ph/content/summary-inflation-report-consumer-price-index-2018100-october-2026
  2. CDC's travel instructionshttps://www.cdc.gov/port-health/legal-authorities/attestation-order.html
  3. signed orderhttps://www.cdc.gov/port-health/media/pdfs/2026/10/CDC-Ebola-Attestation-Order-Signed.pdf
  4. Radyo Pilipinas reports the advisory's end timehttps://radyopilipinas.ph/2026/11/03/mabigat-na-daloy-ng-trapiko-sa-bahagi-ng-julia-vargas-hanggang-shaw-blvd-asahan-bukas-hanggang-sabado-dotr/
  5. Philippine Information Agencyhttps://pia.gov.ph/news/luzon/ncr/dotr-issues-traffic-advisory-with-metro-manila-subway-project-advance/
  6. NET25's report of the route schedulehttps://net25.com/news/expect-traffic-slowdown-in-some-ncr-roads-from-nov-4-to-7-do-tr
  7. PSA's rice and corn inventory reporthttps://psa.gov.ph/content/rice-and-corn-stocks-inventory-october-2026

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