Completion date set for NGCP Northern Mindanao substation

November 21, 2024 | 9:10 pm

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it set a completion date of Jan. 31 for the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ (NGCP) P2.34-billion substation project in Northern Mindanao.

In a resolution issued on Thursday, the ERC said of the NGCP’s Laguindingan 230-kiloVolt (kV) Substation Project: “Failure to meet the deadline will subject NGCP to administrative penalties, as mandated by applicable laws and regulations.”

ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Monalisa C. Dimalanta said via Viber that the capital expenditure (capex) project is currently 85% complete based on NGCP monthly reports.

The grid operator filed the application for the transmission project in January 2021, Ms. Dimalanta said.

The ERC said that the project will address the overloading at Opol Substation, which serves as the main power supply for the Laguindingan area, and address the limitations of the Tagoloan Substation, where several components require upgrading due to low interrupting capacity.

The new transmission line is expected to improve the power supply for Misamis Oriental I Electric Cooperative and support the province’s domestic industrial zone Laguindingan Technopark with a high-power transmission corridor.

The ERC recently announced that it approved three NGCP capex transmission projects amounting to P38.09 billion.

It approved the development of the P17.09-billion Bolo-Balaoan 500-kV Transmission Line, P16.8-billion Northern Luzon 230-kV Loop, and P4.2-billion Nabas-Caticlan-Boracay Transmission projects. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Profit taking, weak peso drag PSEi to 6,800 level

November 21, 2024 | 9:00 pm

PHILIPPINE STOCKS declined to the 6,800 level on Thursday as investors booked profits after the market’s four-day rally and as the peso weakened to P59 against the dollar.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped 1.61% or 112.62 points to 6,863.01. The broader all-share index shed 0.98% or 38.02 points to 3,809.39.

The PSEi traded as high as 6,919.57 before dropping to the 6,800 level before the bell rang.

“The local market pulled back from its preceding four-day rally this Thursday as investors took profits. The peso’s weakness against the dollar weighed on the bourse,” Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, a senior research analyst at Philstocks Financial, Inc., said in a Viber message.

The peso closed at P59 a dollar, weakening by nine centavos from its P58.91 close on Wednesday. It was the first time that the peso returned to the P59-a-dollar level since Oct. 17, 2022.

“Philippine shares finally succumbed to profit taking after successive sessions in the green, while Wall Street closed mixed as concerns over Nvidia’s earnings and escalating political tensions weighed on investor sentiment,” Luis A. Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., said in a Viber message.

Wall Street had a mixed result on Nov. 20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index gained 0.32% or 139.53 points to 43,408.47; while the S&P 500 index added 0.0022% or 0.13 point to 5,917.11. The Nasdaq Composite index lost 0.11% or 21.33 points to 18,966.14.

Almost all of the market’s sectoral indexes closed lower. Holding firms lost 2.83% or 167.73 points to 5,758.98, while property declined 2.18% or 58.26 points to 2,603.25.

The industrial index fell 1.17% or 113.16 points to 9,497.64, while financials went down 1.13% or 26.17 points to 2,288.87. Mining and oil retreated 0.74% or 57.14 points to 7,656.05.

The service index bucked the trend, gaining 0.7% or 14.93 points to 2,135.50.

Value turnover grew to P5.64 billion covering 1.37 billion shares from P5.38 billion covering 731.77 million stocks on Wednesday.

Losers beat winners 111 to 86, while 57 stocks were unchanged.

Net foreign selling reached P480,563.13, a turnaround from the P82.21 million of net foreign buying on Wednesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

US task force seen as a diplomatic path to address sea row with China

November 21, 2024 | 8:58 pm

South China Sea-Ayungin — AN AERIAL VIEW shows the BRP Sierra Madre on the contested Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin, in the South China Sea, March 9, 2023. — REUTERS

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter

A NEW United States task force formed to assist Philippine resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal) will pave the way for diplomatic solutions and more joint exercises amid China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea, according to the US Embassy in the Philippines and a Philippine senator.

“Task Force-Ayungin enhances US-Philippine alliance coordination and interoperability by enabling US forces to support Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) activities in the South China Sea,” US Embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay told reporters in a Viber message on Thursday.

“This initiative aligns with multiple lines of cooperation between US and Philippine forces, including the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board process and the Bantay Dagat framework,” he said noting the task force is an addition to Washington’s “long-standing shared efforts” to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel welcomed the task force dedicated to Philippine operations in the Second Thomas Shoal, where a beached warship serves as an outpost for Philippine troops.

“This adds to peaceful, non-violent, non-armed but an effective toolkit created by the Philippines which consists of political and diplomatic actions, which we are taking and should be taken to assert the Hague ruling,” Ms. Hontiveros said in mixed English and Filipino at a news briefing on Thursday.

Ms. Hontiveros was referring to the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in 2016 that said China’s claims had no legal basis, a ruling Beijing rejects.

She added that more countries have also started supporting the Philippines, including the US, some countries in Southeast Asia as well as in the Asia Pacific region.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to reporters’ request for comment via Viber.

China’s coast guard has been blocking and firing water cannons and engaging in dangerous maneuvers that have led to collisions to prevent Philippine vessels from delivering food and other supplies to the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship that Manila grounded at the shoal in 1999 to bolster its maritime claim.

In an X post after his visit to Manila this week, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III said he had visited a military command and control fusion center in Palawan on Wednesday, along with US troops part of US Task Force-Ayungin.

“America is profoundly committed to the defense of the Philippines. Our commitment to the Mutual Defense Treaty is ironclad…” he said.

Mr. Austin, who is on his fourth visit to Manila, reiterated the ironclad commitment of the US to the Philippines, citing the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty which compels both nations to defend each other in case of an armed attack.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. affirmed this in a “very friendly” and “very productive” phone call with US President Donald J. Trump, adding that the US and the Philippines relations are “as deep as can possibly be because it has been for a very long time.”

US-Philippine ties have reached unprecedented levels under Mr. Biden, with Washington announcing a plan to develop an economic corridor on the main island of Luzon in April following a trilateral meeting among Mr. Marcos, his US counterpart, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Last year, Manila gave Washington access to four more military bases under their 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

DEFENSE BUDGET
Also on Thursday, Ms. Hontiveros pushed for the restoration of a P10-billion budget cut in the Philippine military modernization plan, which was supposed to get P50 billion next year.

“I really hope we can restore this,” she said. “We need to catch up and attain a credible defense posture through our government and the private sector to reach this self-reliant defense posture.”

“I’m hoping that we can agree on this (restoring P10 billion) with the House panel during the bicameral conference committee.”

The Department of Budget and Management earlier slashed the P50-billion budget by P10 billion for the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization program in 2025.

The senator noted that the Senate Finance committee report on the P6.325-trillion national budget next year includes an additional P100 million in intelligence fund for the operations of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The PCG earlier said it expects delivery of 10 ships from Japan and France amid Beijing’s continued efforts to block resupply missions at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.

PHL-Indonesia still in talks on conditions for Pinay drug convict’s transfer

November 21, 2024 | 8:57 pm

Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso shows her handicraft during a workshop at Wirogunan prison in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, April 12, 2016. — REUTERS FILE PHOTO

CONDITIONS for the transfer of Mary Jane F. Veloso, who has been incarcerated in Indonesia for over a decade, were still under discussions with the Indonesian government, Philippine authorities said on Thursday.

This, after President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. claimed earlier in the day that the death sentence for Ms. Veloso, the only overseas Filipino worker (OFW) on death row in Indonesia, has been commuted to life imprisonment.

“We are bound to honor the conditions that would be set for the transfer, particularly the service of sentence by Mary Jane in the Philippines, save the death penalty which is prohibited under our laws,” the Justice and Foreign Affairs departments said in a statement.

“The conditions for the transfer of Ms. Mary Jane Veloso are still being discussed with Indonesia,” they added.

Mr. Marcos on Thursday morning claimed that government efforts have led to the commutation of Ms. Veloso’s death sentence to life imprisonment.

“We will have to decide what will happen next,” he added, noting that Ms. Veloso is set to return to the Philippines.

Mr. Marcos first announced the impending comeback of Ms. Veloso to the Philippines on Wednesday, citing over a decade of diplomatic talks between the two nations.

But Ms. Veloso “will not be immediately released” when she arrives in the Philippines until the two Southeast Asian neighbors reach a mutual agreement for clemency, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said earlier.

Asked on Thursday whether the government will grant clemency to Ms. Veloso, Mr. Marcos said: “We will see.”

“This is the first time this has happened. So, everything is on the table,” he added.

Domestic groups have welcomed the expected return of Ms. Veloso but said the government should do more by granting her clemency.

The National Union of People’s Lawyers — whose members lawyer for Ms. Veloso — said the clemency should be granted to her on “humanitarian grounds” and “as a matter of justice.”

Philippine migrant group Migrante, which has been calling for Ms. Veloso’s release since 2010, said it will organize protest actions, petition drives, and letter barrages to put pressure on the government for Ms. Veloso’s clemency.

“In the event that Mary Jane were to be transferred to the Philippines, President Marcos, Jr. will now have the power to grant Mary Jane clemency based on her being a victim of human trafficking, on humanitarian grounds, and the absence of death penalty in the Philippines,” it said in a statement.

The Filipino overseas worker was sentenced to death in October 2010 and was granted a stay of execution in April 2015. Ms. Veloso, who was caught smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin hidden in the lining of a suitcase, was a victim of human trafficking, according to her lawyers.

Mr. Marcos said the Philippines’ good relations with Indonesia under its past and current presidents have enabled the transfer of Ms. Veloso.

The drug trafficking case of Ms. Veloso has long been decided, but the Indonesian government in 2015 agreed to delay her execution amid the still-ongoing case against her recruiters at a trial court in the province of Nueva Ecija north of the capital Manila.

And it helped so much that the late President Benigno S.C. Aquino III asked Indonesia at the last minute to make Ms. Veloso a state witness.

His foreign secretary, the late Albert F. del Rosario, had said Indonesia gave Ms. Veloso a reprieve to allow her to testify against her recruiters, in a move that the Aquino government said would target a drug trafficking syndicate that has been linked to the victim’s recruiters.

Meanwhile, senators urged the government to double its efforts to go after the human trafficking and drug syndicates in the Philippines.

“Authorities should give particular focus on ensuring that Mary Jane Veloso is protected and if we spared her from the death penalty abroad, then we need to also make sure she is safe since she had been a victim of human trafficking,” Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel told a news briefing in Filipino.

“The government needs to strive to eradicate and punish these syndicates behind human trafficking, these drug syndicates.”

Senate President Francis G. Escudero said the President is likely to grant clemency to the overseas Filipino worker but noted it would need to go through legal and diplomatic channels.

“In the meantime, what’s important is that she has been spared from the death penalty and the process is underway for her to be free ultimately,” he told reporters in a Viber message.

Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Legal Human Rights, Immigration, and Correction (Kemenko Kumham Imipas) earlier said Ms. Veloso would serve her remaining sentence in the Philippines, subject to conditions laid out by an Indonesian court. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and John Victor D. Ordoñez

House to fight for inclusion of low-income earners’ cash assistance in next year’s national budget

November 21, 2024 | 8:56 pm

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

THE House of Representatives will “fight” to retain funding for a Social Welfare department’s indigent aid program next year, Speaker and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said on Thursday following the Senate’s decision to cut the program under its version of the proposed 2025 national budget.

The Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) is a program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that provides financial assistance to workers whose income falls below the poverty threshold. It provides one-time cash assistance between P3,000 to P5,000 to eligible beneficiaries.

“We will fight for AKAP,” Mr. Romualdez said in a statement, objecting to the Senate’s move to remove the program from their version of the budget bill.

The Senate deleted AKAP as a line item in their proposed budget, opting instead to merge it with another DSWD aid program, according to Senator Maria Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos.

“In my opinion, it would be better if we combine the AICS (Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations) and the AKAP. This way, we can provide greater aid to our fellow citizens who are truly in need,” she said in a Thursday statement in Filipino.

The financial aid program drew criticism from the Senate during a controversial campaign to amend the Constitution through a People’s Initiative in early 2024, with Ms. Marcos linking the dole-outs to the signature drive.

Mr. Romualdez and Party-list Rep. Elizaldy S. Co, who heads the House appropriations panel, formulated AKAP in 2023 to provide a stop-gap measure for working Filipinos with limited income.

Social Welfare Secretary Rexlon T. Gatchalian bucked the Senate’s move to cut AKAP, telling senators that “millions could fall back into poverty” if they decide to remove it. “We most respectfully urge our senators to keep AKAP funded in 2025,” he said in a separate statement on Thursday.

The aid program has already helped about four million indigent Filipinos, according to Mr. Gatchalian, with the DSWD already disbursing about P20.7 billion of the total P26.7 allotted under the 2024 General Appropriations Act.

“We stand with Secretary Gatchalian in urging our colleagues in the Senate to uphold the AKAP budget,” Mr. Romualdez said. “This is about ensuring that no Filipino family falls back into poverty because of insufficient support.”

The House has allotted P39 billion to AKAP for 2025, according to its version of the budget bill.

Lawmakers should consider the potential effects of combining AKAP and AICS together, Hansley A. Juliano, who teaches politics at the Ateneo de Manila University, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“This can potentially make beneficiaries resentful of this loss of policy.”

While both provide social aid to indigent Filipinos, AICS is primarily concerned with giving support services, including medical, burial, education, and food assistance to Filipinos in crisis. AKAP is constrained to low-income earners.

“Realignment is understandable, but eligibility needs to be expanded to account for people who were relying on AKAP,” he said.

CA upholds NLRC ruling on employee benefits

November 21, 2024 | 8:55 pm

Toy factory workers — WORKERS make customized pet plushies at a factory in Angeles City, Pampanga, March 10, 2023. — REUTERS

THE PHILIPPINES’ Court of Appeals (CA) has dismissed a petition against the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) for the alleged grave abuse of its discretion when it ruled in favor of employees, directing their employer to reinstate previously discontinued benefits.

In a 21-page decision, the appellate court’s first division dismissed for lack of merit a petition filed by a construction material company against the NLRC’s ruling, which also ordered the company to reimburse transportation expenses when its shuttle service became unavailable and cover illegitimate children as beneficiaries under the company’s group life insurance.

“NLRC did not commit grave abuse of discretion,” a part of Presiding Justice Fernanda Lampas-Peralta’s ruling stated in the Nov. 18 decision.

The petition specifically alleged that “the NLRC gravely abused its discretion when it ruled that the ‘transportation reimbursement’ had ripened into a demandable company benefit” and that the labor arbiter “acted without jurisdiction when it ordered the designation of a beneficiary in an insurance policy taken out by [the company].”

During the arbitration proceedings, the company admitted covering the transportation expenses for its employees, resulting in the appellate court finding that the NLRC did not abuse its authority by ordering reimbursement.

“The giving of the ‘transportation reimbursement’ was shown to have been done over a long period of time, and was consistent and deliberate, that is, whenever the shuttle service was not available,” a part of the decision stated.

“Hence, its unilateral withdrawal constituted a violation of the rule on non-dimunition of benefits.”

The CA also said the NLRC did not act out of its jurisdiction regarding the insurance policy issue as “labor arbiters have the authority to hear and decide cases” involving claims arising from an employee-employer relationships. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Explain CIF spending, VP Sara told

November 21, 2024 | 8:54 pm

VICE-PRESIDENT Sara Duterte-Carpio should face head-on a House of Representatives investigation into her alleged misuse of secret funds instead of dodging it, House Speaker and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said on Thursday.

“Well, she should show up, take the oath, speak, and explain because of all her officials… she seems to be the only one who knows what happened to those funds,” he told reporters, according to a statement released by his office.

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment.

The House good government and public accountability has been holding hearings into Ms. Carpio’s alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) under the OVP’s budget in 2022 and the Education department in 2023, when she sat as its secretary.

It has already held six hearings on the issue, but lawmakers are becoming frustrated as the House good government panel has been stonewalled by officials attending it.

Several officials part of Ms. Carpio’s “inner circle” at the OVP have failed to show up to the House investigation, resulting in them receiving contempt citations and arrest orders.

“She shouldn’t pass it on to her officials at the OVP and DepEd (Department of Education). I just hope she speaks up,” Mr. Romualdez said. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

Subic is 6^th cheapest destination

November 21, 2024 | 8:54 pm

DIGITAL travel platform Agoda cited Subic as the 6^th cheapest destination in Asia for the upcoming holiday season due to its low room rates, it said.

“Travelers seeking budget-friendly accommodation options for Christmas and New Year’s Eve have many destinations in Asia to choose from, with Subic being the most affordable destination in the Philippines with an average room rate of P5,046.69 per night,” Agoda said in a statement.

According to Agoda’s “Cheapest Christmas Destinations” list released on Wednesday, Hat Yai, Thailand is the cheapest destination in Asia with an average room rate of P2,699.39 per night. This was followed by Surakarta Indonesia with a rate of P2,758.08, and Varanasi, India at P2,875.44.

Ranking fourth in the list is Dalat, Vietnam, which has an average room rate of P3,638.31 per night, while Miri, Malaysia came in fifth with an average room rate of P3,814.36.

Other cheap destinations cited include Taitung, Taiwan (P5,868.25 average room rate), Nagoya, Japan (P6,396.39), and Yeosu-si, South Korea (P7,511.36).

“The holiday season brings joy, cherished moments with friends and family, and the spirit of exploration. It’s also a time when expenses can quickly accumulate, making budget considerations crucial for travelers,” Michael Hwang, country director, the Philippines at Agoda, was quoted as saying.

Agoda’s “Cheap Destinations” ranking was based on an analysis of the average room rates of the top ten destinations per market. The room rates, which were for accommodation bookings, were quoted on average, and are subject to changes.

The bookings analyzed covered the period of September to October 2024, with check-in dates between Dec. 24 to 31, 2024. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

Cebu ex-treasurer cleared of graft

November 21, 2024 | 8:53 pm

THE PHILIPPINES’ anti-graft court has acquitted a public official of a municipality in Cebu province of graft in connection to the alleged procurement of overpriced fertilizers in 2005, citing failure to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

In a 28-page decision, the Sandiganbayan Special Fifth Division cleared former Consolacion municipality treasurer Lecelie J. Placibe of graft over the procurement of 166 bottles of fertilizers, which state auditors found to be overpriced by eight-fold.

“The prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt, with moral certainty, that the crime charged was committed by accused Placibe,” Associate Justice Rafael R. Lagos stated in the Nov. 19 ruling.

State prosecutors failed to establish “with certainty” that the purchased fertilizer bottles were overpriced, neither did they make the case that Ms. Placibe acted with “corrupt intent” during the procurement, the court said. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

28 mayors back 2026 BARMM polls

November 21, 2024 | 8:53 pm

ballot-box-election-voters — PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

COTABATO CITY — A bloc of mayors in Lanao del Sur are supporting the effort of their governor and three other provincial chief executives to have next year’s supposed first ever Bangsamoro parliamentary elections reset to 2026.

A total of 28 mayors out of the 39 in Lanao del Sur, who belong to the regional political party Serbisyong Inklusibo, Alyansang Progresibo (SIAP), backed Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal A. Adiong, Jr.

Mr. Adiong, along with three other governors, Abdulrauf A. Macacua of Maguindanao del Norte, Hadjiman H. Salliman of Basilan and Ysmael I. Sali of Tawi-Tawi, clearly pointed out, in a written statement released on Wednesday, bearing their signatures, that they want the first ever 2025 parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) held in 2026 instead.

Radio reports in Central Mindanao cities on Thursday stated that all of the 28 mayors in Lanao del Sur belonging to the SIAP party are behind Mr. Adiong in his bid for the resetting of the BARMM parliamentary polls.

Mayors in Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and in Basilan had earlier signed manifestos expressing favor for the Senate Bill No. 2864 and House Bill No. 11034, introduced by Senate President Francis G. Escudero and House Speaker Martin G. Romualdez, respectively, as enabling measures for the postponement.

Mr. Adiong, who is a senior SIAP official, said he is grateful to the party’s 28 mayors in Lanao del Sur for manifesting favor for the postponement of the regional election — John Felix M. Unson

CAR intensifies fight vs violence against women, children

November 21, 2024 | 8:52 pm

BAGUIO CITY — The Interior department in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) is actively pushing local government units (LGUs) to strengthen their programs to minimize and finally end violence against women and children.

The Department of Interior and Local Government Cordillera Regional Director Araceli A. San Jose profusely urged LGUs to enhance their campaign as the country is observing the National Children’s Month this November.

Data from the Cordillera police showed 281 cases of violence against children in the first 10 months of 2024. In 2023, there were 354 cases logged.

This includes victims of rape, exploitation, discrimination, and acts of lasciviousness.

Though Ms. San Jose noted a decrease in the number of cases of violence against children, the number is still alarming, prompting her to push for appropriate measures and interventions at the local levels.

She reiterated calls to enhance of the Local Communities on Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Women and their Children and the Local Council for the Protection of Children in all villages in the Cordillera by arming them with ample knowledge and knowing their responsibilities in the implementation of laws on children-protection and welfare. — Artemio A. Dumlao

Lady Spikers battle Lady Bulldogs at Shakey’s Super League finals

November 21, 2024 | 7:44 pm

Bela-belen-NU-over-DLSU-Shane-Reterta-over-Amie-Provido_ — BELLA BELEN of National University against De La Salle’s Shane Reterta and Amie Provido.

Game on Friday
(Rizal Memorial Coliseum)
6:30 p.m. – La Salle vs NU

BACK-TO-BACK champion National University (NU) and De La Salle University bring their UAAP rivalry to the Shakey’s Super League Collegiate Pre-Season Championship in the much-awaited Game 1 of the finale Friday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Hostilities fire off at 6:30 p.m. with the Lady Bulldogs looking to move closer to a coveted three-peat albeit against a strong resistance from their UAAP archrivals Lady Spikers, who went unbeaten until the finals.

NU and La Salle met twice in the UAAP finals, exchanging crowns in Seasons 84 and 85 but the Lady Bulldogs have been the undisputed queens in the Shakey’s tilt with perfect runs in two seasons.

La Salle though gained some measure of vengeance in the elimination rounds as it snapped NU’s 28-game, two-year run with a 32-30, 14-25, 25-22, 25-21 win.But the finale is an entirely different arena, looming to be a toss-up for the unarguably the country’s two best collegiate volleyball programs today with UAAP MVPs Bella Belen of NU and La Salle’s Angel Canino at the center stage.

Aside from Ms. Belen, Mr. Meneses will have back-to-back SSL MVP Alyssa Solomon to bank on along with the seasoned spikers in Vange Alinsug, Erin Pangilinan, Sheena Toring, Lams Lamina and rising star Arah Ella Panique from Alas Pilipinas.

La Salle, for its part, stands ready to whatever retaliation NU has in a fiery rematch since their titular showdown in 2022.

Spearheading the way for the Lady Spikers are Ms. Canino, SSL National Invitationals MVP Shevana Laput, Julia Coronel, Amie Provido and Baby Jyne Soreño. — John Bryan Ulanday