House opens budget talks to groups

August 5, 2025 | 7:18 pm

THE HOUSE of Representatives on Tuesday approved a measure allowing civil groups to sit in during budget discussions at the chamber.

In a voice vote, congressmen adopted House Resolution No. 94, paving the way for observers to monitor House budget deliberations amid calls for transparency in the budget process. The measure also mandates the House appropriations committee to establish accreditation guidelines.

In line with this Party-list Rep. Jude A. Acidre met with representatives from civil groups, holding a consultation meeting to understand how to make the budget process more inclusive and transparent.

“We believe that involving civil society groups at the very start of budget discussions will help us craft a national budget that is more responsive, inclusive and aligned with the needs of our people,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, a congressman on Tuesday called on the House of Representatives appropriations panel to release the full list of amendments made by a group of lawmakers to the 2025 budget bill after it was approved on third reading, saying that such a move would show the chamber’s commitment to budget transparency.

While the House budget panel plans to push the scrapping of the “small committee” reviewing budget amendments, Navotas Rep. Tobias Reynald M. Tiangco said it is only the “first step” to pushing transparency in the budget process.

“We cannot move forward and simply forget the wrongdoings of the past,” Navotas Rep. Tobias Reynald M. Tiangco said in a statement. “We have to uncover the sins of the 2025 budget.”

Lawmakers are pushing for a more transparent budget process following criticism of this year’s spending plan, which was marred by allegations of pork barrel insertions and controversy over the bicameral committee’s handling of unprogrammed funds. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Duterte asked to comment on House MR

August 5, 2025 | 7:17 pm

THE SUPREME Court (SC) on Tuesday asked Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio and Davao-based lawyer Israelito P. Torreon to comment on the Motion for Reconsideration (MR) filed by the House on the same day.

They were given 10 days from Aug. 5 to comply with the court’s order.

The House had asked the High Court to overturn a ruling that declared Ms. Duterte’s impeachment as unconstitutional, through a motion filed electronically on Monday. The chamber submitted a physical copy to the SC on Tuesday.

The SC last month unanimously ruled that the complaint against Ms. Duterte violated a constitutional safeguard that only one impeachment proceeding may be launched against an impeachable official within one year. It also decided that the House violated the Vice-President’s right to due process.

A total of four complaints were hurled against Ms. Duterte since December last year. She was only impeached in February after more than 200 congressmen voted to send the ouster changes to the Senate without any hearing.

Meanwhile, a congressman on Tuesday urged the SC to handle with “utmost care” the House of Representatives.

The High Court should weigh the arguments cited in the House’s motion as Ms. Duterte’s impeachment is a “landmark” test in pursuing accountability for high-ranking officials, said Batangas Rep. Gerville R. Luistro.

“With all due respect to the Supreme Court, the Motion for Reconsideration must be resolved with utmost care,” Ms. Luistro, who was part of the House prosecution panel, said in a statement. “This is a landmark case in impeachment proceedings, thus both parties must be accorded ample opportunity to argue their respective positions.”

A likely contender in the 2028 presidential race, Ms. Duterte was accused of budget misuse, unexplained wealth and allegedly conspiring the assassinate President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., his wife and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez. She denied all accusations. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Bill penalizes use of AI for scams

August 5, 2025 | 7:17 pm

A PHILIPPINE Senator on Tuesday said he has filed a bill criminalizing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for spreading misinformation and investment scams.

Under Senate Bill no. 782, Senator Francis G. Escudero said that any person responsible for creating, generating, reproducing, duplicating, simulating, distributing, disseminating or publishing an individual’s physical attributes without their consent in any media content, regardless of the medium, platform or point of access used, will be held criminally liable.

“Used properly, AI could serve as a powerful tool for education, business, and other fields for improving productivity, research and finding solutions to complex problems. However, the reality is that AI is being exploited by some to cause personal harm or undermine public trust,” Mr. Escudero said in a separate statement.

The proposed measure penalizes individuals who create, generate, or share content containing a person’s physical attributes without prior consent or legal basis with up to two years of imprisonment or a fine not more than P200,000, or both.

Jail time of two up to four years, or a fine ranging from P200,000 to P400,000 may be faced for those who generate illegal content to acquire financial gain or profit.

Individuals that create content designed to facilitate or commit crime or fraud may face four to six years in prison, or a fine of P400,000 to P600,000, or both.

Mr. Escudero is also proposing imprisonment of up to 12 years or a fine of P600,000 to P1 million, or both for schemed that acquire financial gain or profit and to facilitate or commit a crime or fraud.

Public officials or employees who violate the measure may be faced with absolute perpetual disqualification from public office, along with the maximum penalties prescribed under the bill. — Adrian H. Halili

Customs seizes P25.3-M drug shipment

August 5, 2025 | 7:16 pm

BoC-drug — The BoC seized P25.3 million worth of drug shipment disguised as cable rolls at the Port of Clark. — CUSTOMS.GOV.PH

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) on Tuesday said it seized P25.3 million worth of drug shipment disguised as cable rolls from Belgium at the Port of Clark.

In a statement on Tuesday, Customs said it intercepted a shipment carrying 5,062 grams of Ketamine concealed in a wooden cable reel declared as “data cable roll.” It was bound to San Rafael, Rizal.

The shipment, which arrived on July 24, was flagged for physical examination due to suspicious details in its declaration, the BoC said.

It added that a 19-kilogram wooden cable reel, covered with spray foam, has six transparent plastic pouches of a white crystalline substance and later confirmed as Ketamine after laboratory testing.

“Smuggled narcotics pose a serious threat to public safety. Protecting Filipino lives remains at the heart of every operation we carry out, this seizure is no exception,” Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno said.

The BoC also said that in a related operation on July 29, the Port of Clark also intercepted two shipments bound for Quezon City containing 52 grams of MDMA (Ecstasy) worth P265,200 falsely declared as “Animal Food” from Paris. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

Yellow alert raised over Visayas grid

August 5, 2025 | 7:15 pm

Electric post — STOCK PHOTO | Image by Natsuki from Unsplash

A YELLOW ALERT was declared over the Visayas grid on Tuesday amid higher forecasted demand and power plants that were on forced outages, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said.

In an advisory, the NGCP said that the Visayas grid was placed on yellow alert from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Peak demand hit 2,475 megawatts (MW) against the available capacity of 2,528 MW.

A total of 744 MW was unavailable to the grid as 17 power plants have been on forced outage and six are running on derated capacities.

Contributing to the declaration of yellow alert was the decrease in power imported from Mindanao due to the outage of Pulangi 4 Unit 3.

This marks the third time that the Visayas grid has been placed under a yellow alert this year following the alert notices issued on Monday evening and on Aug. 1.

A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.

The Luzon and Mindanao grids are under normal conditions.

In 2024, the Philippines was placed under 16 red alerts and 62 yellow alerts which led to some brownouts and power interruptions.

In a statement, the Department of Energy ordered generation companies in Visayas and Mindanao to immediately restore power plants currently on forced outage to help stabilize the power supply across both grids.

“We expect full cooperation and accountability — delays are no longer acceptable at this point,” said Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin.

The NGCP recently conducted its annual blackout drills to improve its grid response capabilities in case of large-scale power outages or system disturbances.

The activity involved discussions on black start services, actual restoration experiences, blackout restoration guidelines and procedures, breakout sessions, and workshops focusing on area-specific blackout restoration highways.

“Through these drills, NGCP can evaluate communication protocols, assess response times, and strengthen coordination efforts. We are able to identify weaknesses, if any, and address them proactively, in coordination with our partner stakeholders,” the company said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Cops seize P1.7-M drugs in Marawi operation

August 5, 2025 | 7:13 pm

COTABATO CITY — Policemen seized P1.7 million worth of crystal meth (shabu) from two dealers, both linked to the Dawlah Islamiya terror group, entrapped in Barangay Patani in Marawi City on Saturday, Aug. 2.

The suspects are now both locked in a police detention facility in Marawi City, the provincial capital of Lanao del Sur.

Brig. Gen. Jaysen C. de Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), said on Tuesday, that the two suspects yielded peacefully when they learned that they sold 250 grams of shabu, costing P1.7 million, in an entrapment operation.

Local executives and traditional Maranao leaders had told reporters that the two now detained suspects shared fractions of their earnings with the leaders of the now weakened Dawlah Islamiya terror group.

Mr. de Guzman said members of the multi-sector Lanao del Sur Peace and Order Council, and the office of Lanao del Sur Mamintal Adiong, Jr. supported the entrapment operation.

Officials of intelligence units of PRO-BAR are now investigating the assertions by Maranao leaders in Lanao del Sur that the duo are members of the Dawlah Islamiya and are verifying their possible involvement in recent bombings in Central Mindanao. — John Felix M. Unson

Hotshots’ William Navarro heads to South Korea with Busan KCC Egis

August 5, 2025 | 6:42 pm

PBA RISING STAR William Navarro of the Magnolia Hotshots is officially headed to Korea with Busan KCC Egis.

Busan on Tuesday announced the signing of Mr. Navarro for the upcoming 2025-2026 season, ending a short stint with Magnolia after a mid-conference trade from NorthPort in the just-concluded 2025 PBA Philippine Cup.

“Welcome, (Mr.) William. We ask for lots of support and encouragement to William Navarro, who is making a new start at KCC Egis,” said the Korean Basketball League (KBL) club.

It will be Mr. Navarro’s international league debut at last after a foiled stint with the Samsung Seoul Thunders in 2022.

The 6-foot-6 Ateneo standout then signed with Seoul but took a U-turn instead to honor his contract obligations with Gilas Pilipinas and the NorthPort, which had his playing rights after picking him as the No. 2 pick in the 2021 special draft.

Mr. Navarro eventually played for the Batang Pier but sustained an ACL injury in the same year before coming back to fine form as one of the team’s best players in 2023 and 2024.

The 28-year-old forward had his breakout performance this season, especially in the Philippine Cup with a double-double average of 20.57 points and 10.57 rebounds laced by 1.86 assists and 1.14 steals for the Batang Pier.

Midway through the tourney though, he was traded to the Hotshots in exchange for Calvin Abueva, Jerrick Balanza and second round pick in the PBA Season 51 draft.

Mr. Navarro played only five games for the Hotshots, who will be left without any returns from the Mr. Abueva trade after all in a new era under head coach LA Tenorio in lieu of long-time mentor Chito Victolero.

Aside from Magnolia, Mr. Navarro’s former team NorthPort also lost a key piece in Arvin Tolentino, who will likewise take his talents to Korea after signing with the Seoul SK Knights.

SK Knights topped the regular season with a 41-13 slate but bowed to Gilas ace Carl Tamayo and the Changwon LG Sakers in the KBL finals while Mr. Navarro’s team Busan missed the playoffs at ninth place with an 18-36 mark. — John Bryan Ulanday

Gilas Pilipinas not rushing Kai Sotto’s reactivation

August 5, 2025 | 6:41 pm

THOUGH optimistic projections put ACL-hit Kai Sotto potentially returning as early as October, Gilas Pilipinas won’t be rushing the 7-foot-3’s reactivation in the next window.

Mr. Sotto is into his seventh month of rehab after undergoing surgery for the ACL tear he sustained while playing for his Japanese club Koshigaya Alphas in January.

“The Japan league is hoping he’ll be back in time in October to play. And if he’s back in October to play, maybe he’ll be available to us in November in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers,” said coach Tim Cone.

“But,” Mr. Cone was quick to add, “you don’t want to mess around with an ACL injury. So whatever time he needs, we’re certainly going to give him.”

Mr. Sotto himself didn’t give a timetable for his comeback.

“I’m just taking it day by day, making sure to get a little better than yesterday,” the 23-year-old slotman said when he joined the Nationals on the bench during their 103-98 win over the Macau Black Bears in a tuneup.

Initial plan was for Mr. Sotto to join the Gilas delegation in the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to support the Nationals. But it fizzled out as he needed to continue his rehab in Japan.

In the meantime, June Mar Fajardo and Mr. Sotto’s replacement Japeth Aguilar have assumed primary big-man chores as Gilas embarks on the Aug. 5 to 17 Asia Cup.

The Nationals kicked off their bid Group D on Tuesday night (early Wednesday Manila time) against souped-up Chinese-Taipei. They’re set for a duel with another familiar foe, New Zealand, on Thursday, before wrapping up their group assignments against Iraq on Saturday.

Mr. Cone said the Justin Brownlee-led Gilas has prepared for the Continental meet as best as they could.

“We’ve done what we can as a (coaching) staff and now it’s on the players to go out there and really just play their game,” he said in an interview on One Sports a day before the Asia Cup opener. — Olmin Leyba

Yohel Pozo’s pinch-hit single sends Cardinals past Dodgers

August 5, 2025 | 6:40 pm

MASYN WINN and Ivan Herrera hit home runs, Yohel Pozo delivered a go-ahead, pinch-hit single in the ninth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals pulled off a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday in the opener of a three-game series.

Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray shook off recent struggles to give up one run on one hit over seven innings as St. Louis improved to 2-2 on a six-game road trip to San Diego and Los Angeles. Gray, who struck out eight and walked one, permitted 17 earned runs and 30 hits over his previous three outings combined.

Freddie Freeman homered and Tyler Glasnow went seven strong innings, but the Dodgers still lost in the opener of a six-game homestand.

Glasnow yielded one run on three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. It was his second seven-inning outing in five starts since returning from a 2 1/2-month stint on the injured list caused by shoulder inflammation.

The Cardinals’ go-ahead run in the ninth came against new Dodgers right-hander Brock Stewart, who was acquired at the trade deadline on Thursday from the Minnesota Twins.

Minnesota greeted Stewart (2-2) with consecutive singles by Willson Contreras and Lars Nootbaar. Two outs later, Pozo singled to right-center for a one-run lead.

Shohei Ohtani led off the Dodgers’ ninth with a single off left-hander JoJo Romero, but Mookie Betts was robbed of a hit on a diving catch from Nootbaar in right field. Romero closed it out for his second save. — Reuters

Josh Jung’s 10^th inning walk-off home run lifts Rangers over Yankees

August 5, 2025 | 6:40 pm

JOSH JUNG’S two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the 10^th inning provided the winning runs as the Texas Rangers rallied for an 8-5 walk-off victory over the slumping New York Yankees on Monday in the opener of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.

After New York did not score in the top of the 10^th, Yankees reliever Jake Bird (4-2) retired the first two batters he faced before Jung rocketed his homer into the left field stands. Danny Coulombe (2-0) worked through a two-out walk in the 10^th to earn the win.

The Rangers’ Joc Pederson ripped a one-out pinch-hit solo homer in the ninth inning off Devin Williams that tied the game at 5-5 and sent it to extra innings.

Paul Goldschmidt had three hits and scored three runs to lead the Yankees’ attack. New York has dropped four straight games.

Goldschmidt opened the game with a solo homer to left field off Rangers starter Patrick Corbin.

New York added to its lead with a pair of runs in the second. Amed Rosario’s RBI single drove in Austin Wells, who had singled to lead off the frame and moved to third on a double by Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt then trotted home on a single by Cody Bellinger.

The Rangers responded in the bottom of the frame. Wyatt Langford started the rally with a one-out double and Jung followed with a walk. Josh Smith drove in Langford with a single before Jonah Heim’s infield single loaded the bases. Ezequiel Duran plated Jung and Smith with a single to left field that tied the game. Heim then scored on an errant pickoff throw to second base by Yankees starter Max Fried that gave Texas a 4-3 lead.

Giancarlo Stanton put the Yankees back on top in the fourth on a line drive home run over the center field fence that allowed Goldschmidt, who had reached on a single, to score ahead of him.

Jon Gray took over for Corbin in the fourth and pitched five innings while throwing 66 pitches — both were season highs.

New York ace Fried allowed four runs and scattered eight hits while walking three and striking out seven in five innings. He was followed to the mound by Luke Weaver, Camilo Doval and David Bednar, all of whom pitched a scoreless inning. — Reuters

The Standard

August 5, 2025 | 6:39 pm

Katie Ledecky didn’t need the clock to know the competition was close. After she touched the wall at the end of the 800-meter freestyle final in Singapore, however, she had to check it, because, for once, there was no certainty in the result. Summer McIntosh had led most of the way. Lani Pallister was surging. And when she ascertained her victory, she knew that, even at 28, she still had impeccable timing. Her 8:05.62 was enough to hold them off, barely, and with it came her seventh world title in the event. That she didn’t dominate as she had been wont to served only to sharpen the moment. “I was just happy I was up there,” she said.

In the lead-up, the race was billed as one of the greatest showdowns in swimming history outside of the Olympics — a generational duel between the sport’s past and its future. McIntosh, a teenager already with an established reputation as a winner, had the momentum. Ledecky boasted of pedigree. And their contrasting styles — the former’s aggressive front-running against the latter’s inevitable close — effectively turned it from a title defense to a referendum on where the balance of power rests.

For McIntosh, the bronze was no failure. At 18, she had already taken four individual golds in the championships. Pallister, too, was just a tad behind, setting a personal best. There was a sense the podium had begun to tilt toward the next generation. For now, though, Ledecky remains at the center, the only swimmer ever to win the same event at eight straight global meets. It’s a legacy borne as much of dominance as of endurance. Which begs the question: How long can the veteran stay at the top?

For all intents, the 800 Ledecky won was a measuring stick. It was far from a foregone conclusion; it offered tension, nuance, and a rare kind of clarity. Only in the last 50 meters did she take the lead, and then keep it. In so doing, she reminded all and sundry the value of persistence versus potential. If nothing else, she proved that she remains THE standard by which everyone else is measured. The next wave may already be at hand, but, for one more night, in her signature event, she endured.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Japan clinches landmark $6.5-billion warship deal with Australia

August 5, 2025 | 6:11 pm

Japan-Flag-1 — A person holds Japan’s national flag at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, Jan. 2, 2020. — REUTERS

SYDNEY/TOKYO — Japan clinched a landmark A$10-billion ($6.5-billion) deal on Tuesday to build Australia’s next-generation warships, marking Tokyo’s most consequential defense sale since ending a military export ban in 2014 in a step away from its postwar pacifism.

Under the agreement, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will supply the Royal Australian Navy with upgraded Mogami-class multi-role frigates from 2029.

Designed to hunt submarines, strike surface ships and provide air defenses, the highly automated warships can be operated by just 90 sailors, less than half the crew needed for current vessels.

Australia plans to deploy the new ships to defend critical maritime trade routes and its northern approaches in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, where China has been increasing its presence and activity.

“It’s going to be really important in terms of giving our navy the capability to project, and impactful projection is at the heart of the strategic challenge,” Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said at a briefing.

For Japan, the frigate sale is further step in its efforts to forge security ties beyond its alliance with the US as it seeks to counter China’s expanding military power in Asia.

“The benefits include enhanced joint operations and interoperability with both Australia and the United States. This is a major step forward in Japan’s defense cooperation efforts,” Japan’s Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani said at a briefing in Tokyo.

The successful bid helps ease the sting of 2016, when Australia rejected a Japanese submarine program in favor of a French design. Canberra scrapped that project in 2023, opting instead to build nuclear-powered submarines with the United States and Britain under the AUKUS pact.

The initial contract for three Japanese-built frigates will be Australia’s largest naval purchase since the nuclear submarine agreement, while the remaining eight ships are expected to be constructed by Austal in Western Australia state.

“The broad-based participation of industries from both Japan and Australia in general-purpose frigates is expected to strengthen human resource development in science and technology, as well as the foundations of the defense industry, in both countries,” MHI, which also designed the submarine rejected by Australia in 2016, said in a press release.

Shares in MHI rose more than 3% and Austal shares rose more than 5%.

Pricing, sustainment, and the transfer of production to Australia remain key issues for further negotiation, officials from both countries said. They said they aimed to conclude a contract early next year.

MHI’s Mogami frigate was selected over German company Thyssen-Krupp Marine Systems’ MEKO A-200 in a meeting of the Australian government’s national security committee.

The upgraded Mogami-class frigate can launch long-range missiles, and has a range of up to 10,000 nautical miles, compared to Australia’s current Anzac Class frigates, which can sail around 6,000 nautical miles, Mr. Marles said. — Reuters