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Lady Blazers blast Lady Bombers in straight sets

Games on Wednesday
(San Andres Gym)
8:30 a.m. – Mapúa vs UPHSD (Men/Women)
2:30 p.m. – AU vs EAC (Men/Women)

FIVE-PEAT seeking College of St. Benilde (CSB) downed Jose Rizal University, 25-15, 25-18, 25-18, on Tuesday to stay in the hunt in NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball at the San Andres Gym in Manila.

Zam Nolasco towered above everyone else and unloaded a match-high 20 points including 18 on kills as the Lady Blazers claimed third victory in four starts that kept them breathing down Group B leader Perpetual Help’s neck.

The Lady Altas remained the only unbeaten squad in their bracket with three triumphs.

CSB also drew strength from Camila Amor Bartolome, who had 12 hits, and twins Shekaina Redge and Shehanna Reigh Lleses, who chipped in 10 and seven, respectively. The Lady Bombers dropped to 0-4.

NBA All-Star

The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) unveiling of its All-Star reserves is typically greeted with equal parts affirmation and irritation, but this year’s announcement seems to carry an even sharper edge. On surface, it delivers a tidy headline: LeBron James, now deep into his 21st season, has been chosen to grace the annual spectacle for a record-extending 22nd consecutive time. Coaches voted him in as a reserve, as much an acknowledgment as any of his sustained relevance. Even in a season where the Lakers have moved unevenly at best, he remains central to how games are shaped and narratives are told. Conventional wisdom may have pegged his inclusion as inevitable, but there can be no discounting how it has also heightened tension among fans swayed by cognitive biases either way.

That stress is amplified by context. This year’s All-Star Game, to be held at the Intuit Dome, will abandon the familiar East-West divide for a compact, tournament-style format highlighting three teams, short games, and the promise of urgency. Whether the league’s latest attempt to inject meaning into a showcase that has grown increasingly symbolic will succeed remains to be seen. That said, there is no small measure of irony in seeing the NBA tinker with format to heighten competitiveness even as the process of selecting who gets to participate remains stubbornly conservative.

Not that the list of reserves (a veritable Who’s Who of hoops stars) is indefensible. Kevin Durant, still operating at an elite level when healthy, earned his 16th All-Star nod. Younger stars like Anthony Edwards and Jamal Murray were rewarded for anchoring winning teams, while first-timers such as Chet Holmgren signaled the league’s gradual generational handoff. In the East, Donovan Mitchell and Pascal Siakam continued their steady presence, and Scottie Barnes’ selection affirmed a steady evolution from promising talent to franchise pillar. Taken individually, the choices pass the eye test. And collectively, they reflect a healthy balance between honoring the present and protecting the familiar.

All the same, the omissions have dominated the post-announcement conversation. Kawhi Leonard’s absence is the most jarring, and not simply because he would have been a worthy representative for the hosts. While in the midst of one of the most efficient scoring seasons of his career, he has built a case rooted squarely in cold, hard facts. His exclusion underscores how non-availability narratives, load management suspicions, and residual skepticism can trump actual on-court impact.

Which brings the discussion back to James, whose selection, to be fair, is both deserved and instructive. It affirms that longevity at the highest level of the sport is in and of itself a form of excellence. However, it likewise shines the spotlight on a question the league wrestles with every February: Is being named to the All-Star Game a reward for achievements in the current season or for a prolonged body of work? This year’s East and West rosters straddle the line. And it may well be what keeps the All-Star debate alive, unresolved, and revealing all at once.

 

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.

India to ramp up purchases of US oil, arms, aircraft; open some farm access

STOCK PHOTO | Image by jorono from Pixabay

NEW DELHI — India has agreed to buy petroleum, defense goods, and aircraft from the US, while partly opening up its highly guarded agriculture sector under a trade deal, according to a government official, as the two sides reconcile after months of tensions.

President Donald J. Trump announced a trade deal with India on Monday that slashes US tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50% in exchange for India halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers.

Mr. Trump said India agreed to buy more American goods with purchases rising to as much as $500 billion including energy, coal, technology, agricultural and other products.

The Indian government official, who did not want to be named, said India has agreed to buy US goods including telecom and pharmaceuticals and offered market access for some agricultural products, as part of New Delhi’s commitments under the deal.

India recently offered select market access for agricultural products to the European Union under a trade deal.

The Asian nation has also lowered tariffs on imported cars to address Washington’s immediate US demands to conclude the first tranche of the deal, the official added.

India’s trade ministry did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment.

India’s exports to the US rose 15.88% year on year to $85.5 billion in January-November, while imports stood at $46.08 billion, Indian government data showed.

“The commitment to buy US products covers sectors like pharmaceuticals, telecom, defense, petroleum and aircraft. It will be done over the years,” the official told Reuters.

The official said a more comprehensive pact with the US will be negotiated over the coming months.

DEAL LIFTS SENTIMENT
The announcement of a trade deal between India and the United States has reduced a great deal of global uncertainty, India’s economic affairs secretary, Anuradha Thakur, said at an event in New Delhi on Tuesday.

It also lifted investor sentiment. India’s benchmark stock index, the Nifty, was up nearly 3% and the rupee climbed over 1% to 90.40 per dollar in early trading.

The 18% tariff offered to India is lower than its Asian peers and comes right in time as exporters are still negotiating annual contracts with their US customers, the official said.

Among Asian nations, US tariffs on goods from Indonesia stand at 19% while the rate for Vietnam and Bangladesh stands at 20%.

“Lower tariffs will not only improve price competitiveness but also help Indian exporters integrate more deeply into US supply chains,” said SC Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations.

Reduction in US tariffs on most Indian goods will reinvigorate India’s goods exports to the US, Moody’s Ratings said in a statement on Tuesday. — Reuters

Taiwan must look to democracies, not China, for trade cooperation, president says

The Pax Silica Summit is a historic gathering of nations at the forefront of the global AI supply chain. — OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, US DEPT. OF STATE OFFICIAL LINKEDIN PAGE

TAIPEI — Taiwan must look to fellow democracies, not China, for trade and economic cooperation, President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday, as his government mapped out how the island plans to work with the United States on areas like AI and critical minerals.

Senior Taiwanese and US officials last week discussed cooperation in artificial intelligence, tech and drones at a high-level forum launched during the first Trump administration, with the US State Department praising Taipei as a “vital partner.”

The two sides signed statements on cooperation on economic security and on the Pax Silica Declaration – a US-led initiative aimed at securing AI and semiconductor supply chains amid intense competition from Beijing, Washington’s main strategic rival and which claims Taiwan as its own territory.

Speaking at a news conference at the presidential office about the US-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, Mr. Lai lauded the outcome of those talks.

“Taiwan is on the right economic path and is striding confidently onto the world stage. Taiwan has both the capability and the confidence to work with its democratic partners to lead the next generation of prosperity,” he said.

Mr. Lai was speaking as the deputy chairman of Taiwan’s main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT), Hsiao Hsu-tsen, was in Beijing for a think-tank exchange with China’s Communist Party on ostensibly non-political issues like AI and tourism.

Mr. Lai said Taiwan’s opposition “had their own positions”, and pointed to the differences of Taiwan’s slower economic growth under the previous KMT government, which signed a landmark trade deal with China, or the much faster growth since the Democratic Progressive Party took office in 2016.

“Do we want to continue collaborating with the US, Japan, Europe and other allied nations, or again lock ourselves into China?” he added.

BEIJING MEETING
Mr. Hsiao told the opening of the forum in Beijing that “peaceful development” serves the interests of both sides, according to a read out of his remarks provided by the party.

“We should cooperate across the Taiwan Strait to earn money from the world, rather than oppose each other across the strait and let foreign countries reap the benefits, exploiting Taiwan and hollowing it out,” he said.

China refuses to speak to Mr. Lai, calling him a “separatist”. He says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Lai reiterated an offer to speak to Beijing, based on parity and equality.

Taiwan’s opposition has also blocked Mr.  Lai’s $40-billion special defense budget, instead pushing their own proposal that provides funding only for certain US arms, not the full package Mr.  Lai wants.

On Monday, US Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Armed Services Committee and one of the strongest advocates for Taiwan in the US Congress, wrote on X that he was “disappointed” to see Taiwan’s opposition parties slash Mr. Lai’s defense budget.

“The original proposal funded urgently needed weapons systems. Taiwan’s parliament should reconsider – especially with rising Chinese threats,” added Mr. Wicker, who met Mr. Lai in Taipei last August.

In response, the KMT said it had always supported the defense budget, and regretted Mr. Wicker’s remarks “made without sufficient information”.

It asked, “Would the US Congress ever pass a blank-cheque budget for eight years with no specifics?” renewing previous criticism of the government that the party could not blindly pass spending without having more details. — Reuters

Trump administration sued over pause on immigrant visa processing

A “Make America Great Again” hat is seen on display on the trading floor at The New York Stock Exchange. — REUTERS

A GROUP of civil rights organizations on Monday sued the State Department over its recent pause on the processing of immigrant visas for citizens from 75 countries, arguing the policy “eviscerate[d] decades of settled immigration law.”

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan asked a judge to issue a court order blocking the policy, which took effect on Jan. 21.

The complaint asserted that the State Department’s policy is “based on an unsupported and demonstrably false claim that nationals of the covered countries migrate to the United States to improperly rely on cash welfare and are likely to become ‘public charges.’”

“A visa is a privilege not a right,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement, adding that the visa policy prevents billions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse.

“The department is pausing issuance to evaluate and enhance screening and vetting procedures — but we will never stop fighting for American citizens first,” Mr. Pigott said.

The lawsuit was brought by the National Immigration Law Center and other groups on behalf of a wide range of plaintiffs, including US citizens who say they have been separated from family members because of the policy.

Another plaintiff is an endocrinologist from Colombia who was approved for an employment-based visa but cannot receive it because Colombia is one of the countries subject to the policy.

The pause has impacted applicants from Latin American countries including Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay, Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Albania, South Asian countries Pakistan and Bangladesh, and those from many nations in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

The State Department policy does not impact US visitor visas, which have been in the spotlight given the United States is hosting the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

A State Department cable outlining the move and seen by Reuters said the department was undergoing a “full review” of all policies, regulations and guidance to ensure “the highest level of screening and vetting” for all US visa applicants.

The cable, sent to US missions, said applicants from the 75 impacted countries “are at a high risk for becoming a public charge and recourse to local, state and federal government resources in the United States.” — Reuters

Ukraine agrees to multi-tiered ceasefire enforcement plan with Europe and US — FT

REUTERS/THOMAS PETER

UKRAINE has agreed with Western partners that any persistent Russian violations of a future ceasefire agreement would trigger a coordinated military response from Europe and the US, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Tuesday, citing people briefed on the discussions.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

The plan was discussed on several occasions in December and January between Ukrainian, European and American officials and would involve a multi-tiered response to any breaches of an agreed armistice by Russia, the report said.

Envoys from Kyiv, Moscow and Washington will meet in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Thursday for talks aimed at ending the war, FT said.

As per the proposal, any Russian breach of a ceasefire would prompt a response within 24 hours, starting with a diplomatic warning and, if necessary, action by Ukrainian army to halt the infraction, the newspaper said.

If hostilities continued beyond that, the proposal would move to a second phase of intervention using forces from the so-called coalition of the willing, which includes many European Union members and the UK, Norway, Iceland and Turkey, the report said.

The report added that in the case of an expanded attack, a coordinated response by a Western-backed force, incorporating the US military would be triggered 72 hours after the initial breach. — Reuters

Middle East does not need Iran-US war, diplomatic adviser to UAE president says

Norlando Pobre/CC BY 2.0/Flickr

DUBAI — The Middle East does not need another confrontation between the US and Iran, and Tehran needs to reach a nuclear deal with Washington, the diplomatic adviser to the president of regional power United Arab Emirates said at a World Governments Summit panel in Dubai.

Iran and the United States will resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey, Iranian and US officials told Reuters on Monday. US President Donald Trump warned that with big US warships heading to Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.

The UAE, a highly influential Gulf Arab power, said a long-term solution was needed.

“I think that the region has gone through various calamitous confrontations. I don’t think we need another one, but I would like to see direct Iranian-American negotiations leading to understandings so that we don’t have these issues every other day,” the UAE president’s advisor Anwar Gargash said.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet in Istanbul in an effort to revive diplomacy over a long-running dispute about Iran’s nuclear program and dispel fears of a new regional war. A regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt would also participate.

The US naval buildup near Iran follows a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution.

Mr. Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene during the crackdown, has since demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said last week Iran was “seriously talking”, while Tehran’s top security official Ali Larijani said arrangements for negotiations were under way.

The UAE, a regional trade and business hub, has been in the spotlight since December when tensions rose with Saudi Arabia over developments in Yemen.

The withdrawal of Emirati forces from Yemen following a Saudi airstrike did not defuse tensions between two Gulf oil powers with long-running differences.

Since then the UAE has faced withering criticism on social media over its support for separatists in Yemen and alleged backing for a paramilitary group accused of atrocities in the devastating war against Sudan’s military.

Mr. Gargash dismissed the criticism, saying the noise should be separated from reality.

“I was reading a message that said we were getting 45,000 hate tweets every day on the Sudan issue and on our position in Sudan. And suddenly Yemen was an issue, and suddenly the Sudan bots were reduced from 45,000 to 3,000 a day, so the whole group moved on to another fight,” he said. — Reuters

China’s Xi calls for ‘equal, multipolar world’ as he meets Uruguay leader

REUTERS

BEIJING — China and Uruguay should work together to advance an “equal and orderly multipolar world”, President Xi Jinping told his counterpart Yamandu Orsi on Tuesday, as their nations signed up to cooperate in areas from trade to the environment.

Mr. Orsi’s visit is the first by a South American leader to the Chinese capital since the United States invaded Venezuela in January and captured then President Nicolas Maduro in a raid.

A media pool report cited Mr. Xi as saying China backed Latin American and Caribbean nations in upholding sovereignty, security and development interests, to help defuse a volatile international situation and “escalating unilateral bullying”.

China and Uruguay should “work together to advance an equal and orderly multipolar world and an inclusive, universally beneficial economic globalization,” Mr. Xi said in his remarks.

The meeting comes in the wake of a flurry of visits to China by Western prime ministers this year, from Britain’s Keir Starmer to Canada’s Mark Carney and Finland’s Petteri Orpo.

Mr. Orsi said the strategic partnership of China and Uruguay was going through its “best moment,” and called for both nations to “commit to raising it to a new level”, the pool report added.

He is leading a delegation of 150, including business leaders, on a visit from Sunday until February 7, which will also swing through the commercial hub of Shanghai.

China and Uruguay signed a declaration to deepen a strategic partnership on Tuesday, as well as 12 documents to cooperate in areas ranging from science and technology to the environment, intellectual property and the meat trade.

Uruguay would like to increase trade in goods, especially through diversification, and invest more strongly in services and investment, the pool report added.

The timing of the visit is symbolically important for China, said Francisco Urdinez, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

“For Beijing, hosting Orsi … signals that South American countries remain eager to engage, despite the increasingly polarized geopolitical environment.”

But Uruguay’s engagement with Beijing is likely to be shaped by renewed US attention to Latin America and concerns about China’s involvement there, said Margaret Myers, director of the Asia & Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue.

“Following actions in Venezuela, both China and many Latin American nations are weighing the prospects of continued US intervention in the region.”

GLOBAL SOUTH TIES
China “is willing to work with Uruguay and other regional countries to deepen and solidify the building of a China-Latin America community with a shared future,” Mr. Xi said.

It backs Uruguay in taking on the rotating presidency of the Group of 77+, he added, aiming to boost solidarity in the Global South.

“The world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, with a complex and volatile international situation and escalating unilateral bullying,” Mr. Xi said, adding that China had always attached great importance to ties with Latin America.

China was the top destination for Uruguayan exports in 2025, taking agricultural products from wood pulp to soybeans and beef.

Uruguay, which ran a trade surplus of $187.1 million with China in the first half of 2025, imports its machinery, electronics, and chemicals.

While exports of meat and soy traditionally had a central role in ties, areas such as dairy and service exports hold potential, said Diego Telias, a professor at the Universidad ORT Uruguay. — Reuters

SpaceX acquires xAI in record-setting deal as Musk looks to unify AI and space ambitions

REUTERS

ELON MUSK said on Monday that SpaceX has acquired his artificial-intelligence startup xAI in a record-setting deal that unifies Mr. Musk’s AI and space ambitions by combining the rocket-and-satellite company with the maker of the Grok chatbot.

The deal, first reported by Reuters last week, represents one of the most ambitious tie-ups in the technology sector yet, combining a space-and-defense contractor with a fast-growing AI developer whose costs are largely driven by chips, data centers and energy. It could also bolster SpaceX’s data-center ambitions as Mr. Musk competes with rivals like Alphabet’s Google, Meta, Amazon-backed Anthropic, and OpenAI in the AI sector.

The transaction values SpaceX at $1 trillion, and xAI at $250 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Investors in xAI will receive 0.1433 shares of SpaceX for every share of xAI as part of the acquisition, this person said. Some xAI executives may also opt for cash instead of SpaceX stock at $75.46 per share, the person said.

“This marks not just the next chapter, but the next book in SpaceX and xAI’s mission: scaling to make a sentient sun to understand the Universe and extend the light of consciousness to the stars!” Mr. Musk said.

The purchase of xAI sets a new record for the world’s largest M&A deal, a distinction held for more than 25 years when Vodafone bought Germany’s Mannesmann in a hostile takeover valued at $203 billion in 2000, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The combined company of SpaceX and xAI is expected to price shares at about $527 each, another person familiar with the matter said. SpaceX was already the world’s most valuable privately held company, last valued at $800 billion in a recent insider share sale. XAI was last valued at $230 billion in November, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The merger comes as the space company plans a blockbuster public offering this year that could value it at over $1.5 trillion, two people familiar with the matter said.

SpaceX, xAI, and Mr. Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The deal further consolidates Mr. Musk’s far-flung business empire and fortunes into a tighter, mutually reinforcing ecosystem – what some investors and analysts informally call the “Muskonomy” – which already includes Tesla, brain-chip maker Neuralink, and tunnel firm the Boring Company.

The world’s richest man has a history of merging his ventures together. Mr. Musk folded social media platform X into xAI through a share swap last year, giving the AI startup access to the platform’s data and distribution. In 2016, he used Tesla’s stock to buy his solar-energy company SolarCity.

The agreement could draw scrutiny from regulators and investors over governance, valuation and conflicts of interest given Mr. Musk’s overlapping leadership roles across multiple firms, as well as the potential movement of engineers, proprietary technology and contracts between entities.

SpaceX also holds billions of dollars in federal contracts with NASA, the Department of Defense and intelligence agencies, which all have some authority to review M&A transactions for national security and other risks. — Reuters

Australia’s central bank raises rates for first time in two years

REUTERS

SYDNEY — Australia’s central bank on Tuesday raised its benchmark policy rate for the first time in two years, saying the economy was growing faster than expected and inflation was likely to remain above target for some time.

The Reserve Bank of Australia now joins the Bank of Japan in being the only other developed-world central bank tightening policy at the moment. Markets are still priced for rate cuts in the US, UK and Canada, while the European Central Bank is widely expected to be on an extended pause.

Wrapping up the February policy meeting, the RBA raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.85%, delivering the first hike in two years, and coming just six months after its last cut in August.

Markets had wagered on a 78% probability of a hike on Tuesday given inflation surprised on the high side in the fourth quarter, while unemployment hit a seven-month low in December.

“While part of the pick-up in inflation is assessed to reflect temporary factors, it is evident that private demand is growing more quickly than expected, capacity pressures are greater than previously assessed and labor market conditions are a little tight,” the RBA’s board said in a statement.

“The board judged that inflation is likely to remain above target for some time and it was appropriate to increase the cash rate target.”

The Australian dollar extended earlier gains to be up 1.1% to $0.7020 while three-year government bond futures tumbled 9 ticks to 95.65.

Investors ramped up bets for a follow-up hike in May, which is now priced at 75%. Markets expect an additional total tightening of 40 basis points this year.

INFLATION SURPRISE SET TO KEEP RBA ON TOES

The RBA did not raise interest rates as aggressively as its international peers when inflation was running hot due to its desire to preserve gains in the labor market.

That approach may yet test policymakers. The central bank’s three rate cuts last year saw inflation rear its head again, forcing it to pivot towards a hawkish stance late in 2025 and prompting market bets of an earlier-than-expected start to the tightening cycle.

Consumer price growth has surprised on the upside for two straight quarters now, and is well above the RBA’s target band of 2% to 3%. Underlying inflation, the central bank’s preferred measure, ran at a quarterly pace of 0.9% in the fourth quarter, lifting the annual pace to the highest in over a year at 3.4%.

The recent flow of data has only served to reinforce the need for a quicker-than-expected turn in monetary policy levers, with a surprise fall in the unemployment rate to a seven-month low of 4.1% suggesting the labor market may have started to tighten again.

Robust consumer spending, record-high housing prices and easy credit availability for households and businesses added to the case that financial conditions might not be restrictive at all.

In its separate economic update, the RBA said it was uncertain that financial conditions were restrictive and some indicators suggested they may have been accommodative.

It saw the risk of persistently high inflation even on the technical assumption of more than two rate hikes this year. — Reuters

Philippine lawmakers weigh impeachment for President Marcos

Rep. Gerville R. Luistro, House Committee on Justice Chair, during the impeachment complaint hearing, Feb. 2, 2026. — HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FB PAGE

MANILA — Philippine lawmakers met on Tuesday to decide whether to advance impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is accused of betraying the public’s trust, corruption and violating the constitution.

Mr. Marcos, who is midway through his six-year term and denies wrongdoing, faces two separate complaints filed by a lawyer and activists, which hurdled an initial step at the House justice committee on Monday when lawmakers said both were “sufficient in form”.

The committee reconvened on Tuesday to determine whether there was “substance” to move the complaints forward. The committee’s decision, regardless of which way it goes, would be put to a vote of the lower house of Congress, which is dominated by allies of the president.

If the complaints against Mr. Marcos succeed in a vote of the House, he would be the second Philippine head of state to be impeached after Joseph Estrada, whose 2001 trial was aborted when some prosecutors walked out.

HANDOVER OF EX-PRESIDENT DUTERTE

The complaints include Mr. Marcos’ decision to allow his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte to be arrested and taken to The Hague to face trial at the International Criminal Court over thousands of killings during his notorious “war on drugs”.

Mr. Marcos is also accused of abusing his authority in spending public funds that led to a corruption scandal over flood-control projects. His alleged drug use, which he has denied, also made him unfit to run the country, according to one of the complaints.

The office of Mr. Marcos said he respects the process.

“Even before, the president already said he did not do anything wrong, did not violate the law and did not commit an impeachable offense,” Presidential press officer Claire Castro told a briefing on Monday.

If the lower house decides to impeach Mr. Marcos, it would be sent to the Senate for trial, where its 24 members serve as jurors. Five top officials have been impeached in the Philippines and of those, only one, a former chief justice, was convicted and removed from office.

PRESIDENT AND VP FACE IMPEACHMENT BIDS

Among the five was Mr. Marcos’ estranged Vice President Sara Duterte, whose impeachment was struck down by the Supreme Court last year. She is facing new impeachment complaints and denies wrongdoing.

Rep. Gerville R. Luistro, who heads the justice committee, said its members would decide whether the alleged offenses Mr. Marcos was accused of were enough to impeach him.

“It’s not enough that an impeachable official committed wrongdoing. That wrongdoing must constitute an impeachable offense,” Ms. Luistro told broadcaster Teleradyo.

Ms. Luistro said if lawmakers vote in favor of advancing the complaint, Mr. Marcos would have the chance to respond to the allegations. The backing of one-third of the House is needed to impeach the president. — Reuters

Unilab Foundation partners with Ormoc LGU to boost healthcare delivery in far-flung areas 

Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez expresses appreciation for the selection of Ormoc City as a pilot site for the implementation of a Primary Care Service Delivery Framework tailored for GIDA.

The Unilab Foundation, through its research and policy arm Unilab Center for Health Policy (UCHP), has partnered with the local government of Ormoc City to develop and implement a Universal Health Care (UHC)-aligned Primary Care Service Delivery Framework tailored for the so-called GIDA (Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas) communities.

GIDA refers to communities that face geographic, socio-economic, and infrastructural barriers to accessing basic health services, including areas that are remote, hard to reach, conflict-affected, or underserved due to limited health facilities and personnel. These communities often experience higher health risks and lower access to timely, quality care.

Ormoc City, located in the western part of Leyte province, is a major economic and commercial hub in Eastern Visayas. While the city has seen steady growth and development, it also serves nearby rural and hard-to-reach barangays, making it a strategic location for piloting innovative approaches to primary healthcare delivery that can be scaled to similar communities nationwide.

Under the agreement, UCHP will work with Ormoc City in strengthening the local healthcare delivery system to better address identified health needs and prepare it for the requirements of Universal Health Care, particularly in serving GIDA communities.

The partnership also aims to leverage resources to upskill frontline health workers and community-based personnel through access to up-to-date tools, programs, processes, and partnerships.

In addition, UCHP will advocate for policies that help address gaps in health system readiness and promote stronger public-private partnerships to improve linkages with the private sector.

Atty. Jose Maria A. Ochave, executive director of Unilab Foundation, said the partnership reflects a shared commitment to improving access to quality primary care in underserved areas.

“We look forward to working closely with the Ormoc City government and our partners to support data-driven planning, innovative care models, and stronger collaboration across the local health system,” Ochave said. “Through this collaboration, we hope to help build a sustainable framework that improves access, strengthens referral systems, and supports better health outcomes for communities in GIDA areas.”

As part of the collaboration, the partners aim to complete a validated local situation analysis of the pilot GIDA, including a geo-tagged resource map and baseline indicators to guide future interventions. The partnership also seeks to develop and formally adopt a UHC-aligned Primary Care Service Delivery Framework, design and pilot technology-enabled operational models such as mobile diagnostics and telemedicine, and institutionalize a collaboration model between the LGU and hospitals to improve referrals and community-facing primary care services.

Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez expressed gratitude for the partnership, noting the significance of being selected as a pilot site. “I thank you for thinking of Ormoc. You could have chosen any other place in the Philippines given how wide your reach is, but you have chosen Ormoc and we are blessed and we are very thankful for this partnership,” the mayor said.

The partnership also includes Gatchalian Medical Center, a private hospital in Ormoc City that is part of the Unilab-led Mount Grace Group of Hospitals. Gatchalian Medical Center will serve as a key partner in enabling private hospital participation and strengthening referral networks within the local health system.

Atty. Garney Candelaria, chairman of Gatchalian Medical Center, said the hospital is committed to working collaboratively with the city government and UCHP to improve health delivery in select GIDA communities. “We will support efforts to improve access to primary healthcare by equipping barangay health stations with basic equipment for telehealth and referrals, ensuring connectivity in remote areas, and providing training for healthcare workers and administrators,” Candelaria said. “We also look forward to co-developing systems, protocols, and referral pathways that will help ensure seamless movement of patients across primary, secondary, and tertiary care.”

UCHP noted that it continues to pursue initiatives that will boost the efficient implementation of the Universal Health Care Law in close coordination with both national and local government units.

The health think-tank recently entered into a partnership with the Department of Budget and Management to strengthen the alignment and effectiveness of local government health spending, reinforcing efforts to build a more integrated, resilient, and equitable healthcare system.

 

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