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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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November 7, 2026 · Evening Edition

ABOUT THE CHILDREN’S NUTRITION BILL

Illustration of a meal tray in a classroom.

More children would qualify for feeding programmes under the proposed National Children’s Nutrition Act. The Senate and House have agreed on a reconciled version, according to EDCOM 2’s November 7 announcement. The proposal would replace Republic Act 11037, the country’s existing national feeding law.

The changes concern who receives meals, additional nutrition support, and how food funding is protected. Bicameral agreement does not yet make those benefits available.

1

EARLY-CHILDHOOD FEEDING WOULD HAVE BROADER COVERAGE

The proposal covers children aged two to below five in the early childhood care and development system, regardless of nutritional status. It includes daycare, supervised neighbourhood play, and community- and home-based programmes.

The existing law specifies supplemental feeding for undernourished children aged three to five. However, DSWD already serves some younger children through supervised neighbourhood play programmes. It would therefore be misleading to say that every two-year-old would be receiving government feeding support for the first time.

The proposed change is broader eligibility across early-childhood programmes, including children who are not classified as undernourished.

2

ALL PUBLIC-SCHOOL LEARNERS FROM KINDERGARTEN TO GRADE 3 WOULD QUALIFY

The reconciled proposal provides feeding for all public-school learners from Kindergarten through Grade 3. In Grades 4 to 6, coverage would remain targeted at undernourished learners.

That differs from Republic Act 11037, which directs school-based feeding towards undernourished children throughout Kindergarten to Grade 6. Under the proposed arrangement, nutritional status would no longer determine eligibility in the first four school levels.

The distinction matters for families with children in different grades: broader coverage in the early years would not automatically mean universal feeding throughout elementary school.

3

PREGNANT ADOLESCENT LEARNERS WOULD BE EXPRESSLY INCLUDED

Pregnant adolescent learners in participating schools would receive fortified meals and additional micronutrients, including iron, folic acid and calcium as needed.

This would expressly identify them within the school feeding programme. It would not be the first Philippine law to address teenage maternal nutrition: Republic Act 11148 already covers nutritionally at-risk pregnant and lactating women, particularly teenage mothers, alongside infants and young children.

The two measures concern related but distinct routes to support. The existing law addresses maternal and early-childhood health and nutrition; this proposal specifies assistance for pregnant learners through participating schools.

4

MEAL FUNDING WOULD BE ADJUSTED ANNUALLY AND RESERVED FOR FOOD

The proposal requires annual adjustments to meal funding based on nutrition recommendations and inflation. Supplemental and school-based feeding allocations would go to direct food costs.

Those are separate provisions: one concerns how funding is adjusted; the other concerns what the allocation can pay for.

The programme already extends beyond serving a meal. Republic Act 11037 provides for milk, micronutrient supplements, health examinations, deworming and other supporting measures. A food allocation should therefore not be confused with the entire cost of delivering nutrition services.

The announcement does not provide a new peso amount per child. That figure should not be guessed from the promise of annual adjustments.

5

BICAM AGREEMENT IS NOT YET AN IMPLEMENTATION DATE

A bicameral conference reconciles differences between the House and Senate versions. The agreed report must pass the remaining congressional steps before the enrolled bill goes to the President for constitutional action.

Enactment and implementation are also different stages. Families would still need information on when expanded coverage starts and how schools and local programmes will apply it. The November 7 announcement does not establish a nationwide starting date.

For assistance already available, parents can ask their child’s school or local social welfare office about the programme currently operating. Existing feeding services should not be confused with benefits still being proposed.

BOTTOM LINE

The proposal would broaden feeding eligibility in early childhood and the first years of public school, expressly include pregnant adolescent learners, and change meal-funding rules. Families still need an enacted measure and implementation details before treating the proposed coverage as an available benefit.

SOURCES

  1. EDCOM 2https://edcom2.gov.ph/senate-house-finalize-national-childrens-nutrition-act-in-bicam/
  2. Republic Act 11037https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/2/84997
  3. DSWD CARhttps://car.dswd.gov.ph/programs-services/protective-services-program/supplementary-feeding-program/
  4. Republic Act 11148https://issuances-library.senate.gov.ph/legislative%2Bissuances/Republic%20Act%20No.%2011148
  5. EDCOM 2 Legislative Trackerhttps://edcom2.gov.ph/tracker../

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