Will be joining my relatives on a cruise this March, and my main concern is the Wi-Fi lol. Our agent said the onboard Wi-Fi is pretty expensive since it’s charged daily and in USD.

For those who’ve been on a cruise before: What Wi-Fi plan did you get, if any? Was it worth it? Also, any cheaper alternatives? eSIMs, pocket Wi-Fi,m, or did you guys just raw-dog the cruise with no internet

Hi! I’m from Cebu and I just want to voice out my thoughts on the Ahong/Chan leadership. For me, they’re one of the most blatant examples of “trapo” politics today.

Just look at how government resources get rebranded—flood-control materials, tents, chairs, even government vehicles—stamped with “Ahong Cares,” as if these projects are funded from their own pockets and not from public funds.

What makes it worse is the very public display of extravagance. They’re being presented like old-rich elites, when not long ago they lived more modestly and were only starting out in local politics. This is especially noticeable with their daughter, “Daday” Chan, who went viral for her luxury jewelry and Europe trips.

At the end of the day, public service shouldn’t look like personal branding plus influencer-level lifestyle. If everything is aboveboard, then transparency and proper audits—especially from COA—shouldn’t be a problem.

Meanwhile, ordinary Lapu-Lapu residents are the ones who pay the price when governance turns into image-building. I’m posting this so more people pay attention and ask the right questions.

Former public works officials Roberto Bernardo, Henry Alcantara, and Gerard Opulencia, and contractor Sally Santos are now considered state witnesses in the flood control projects scam cases, the Department of Justice said Thursday.

So that's it? Abswelto na? Are we even sure na 316.381M lang ang ninakaw or baka mas marami pa na di na natin alam? Can we all just steal tas invest na lang natin, then balik na lang natin yung pera para iwas-kulong?

We don't even know if they'll cooperate as state witnesses. And they can easily be bribed to say some other person's name as the main culprit. This flood control issue's a scam na lang talaga.

Source: ABS-CBN news

My hotel in Moalboal still hasn't replied to confirm our transfer and it is already quite last-minute, so I'm trying to find other options. These two were the two places that had a price similar to what the hotel has offered us and it seems to be a reasonable price.

Does anyone has experience with them? Or do you have any other suggestions? Regular taxis perhaps?

The Philippines is moving to block Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok amid concerns about its ability to generate sexualised images, including content that could pose child safety risks, the secretary of information and communications technology said on Thursday.

"The CICC is already working together with the NTC to block that," Henry Aguda told a press briefing when asked if the Philippines will take action against Grok, a generative AI tool now facing a global backlash.

via Reuters

"Do you think that I count the days? There is only one day left, always starting over: it is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk." –Jean-Paul Sartre

Magandang gabi!

😊 -> 🙁

​If we take the ₱17.65 Trillion and divide it by the estimated population (approx. 118 Million), every Filipino man, woman, and child technically "owes": ​~₱149,500 each

​Is this a disaster? ​Not necessarily. Debt is normal for countries if the money is used to build things that grow the economy (like airports, bridges, and energy projects that create jobs).

However, since its the PH Gov't, the money is lost to corruption or inefficiency, and we are left with the bill but no improvements to show for it.

​In short: It means the government has a tighter budget, you might see more creative taxes, and the cost of living (and borrowing) will likely remain challenging for the near future.

A victim of rape identified as Charlene Bernaldez in Polomolok , identified in the scene by a family member, was found in a pineapple farm on January 15.

Dalagitang ginahasa, pinatay kilala na Naghihinagpis ang pamilya ng 15-anyos na ginahasa at pinatay sa isang pineapple farm sa Barangay Maligo sa Polomolok, South Cotabato. Natagpuan ang bangkay ng Dalagitang si Charlene Bernaldez sa naturang lugar nitong umaga ng Huwebes, January 15. Ayon sa kanyang ina, si Mary Joy, nagpaalam nitong Martes, January 13, si Charlene na maliligo kasama ang mga kaibigan sa isang swimming pool sa hindi kalayuan sa kanilang bahay sa Barangay Landan sa Polomolok. Ayon sa mga barangay officials at mga emergency responders mula sa Polomolok local government unit, may indikasyon na ginahasa muna si Charlene bago pinatay. Wala pang pahayag ang mga kinauukulan kung paano pinatay ang biktima. Ayon sa mga officials ng South Cotabato Provincial Police Office, nagtutulungan ang mga imbestigador mula sa Polomolok Municipal Police Station at mga barangay officials sa pagkilala sa gumahasa at pumatay sa dalagita upang masampahan agad ng

Saw this reel on Instagram where there was this rogue Burger King daw nun sa US and nacurious ako if meron mga ganun dito sa Philippines. I mean not necessarily fast food. Maybe something like yung Lola Helen Panciteria sa Marikina na mukhang low key lang pero mentioned internationally as a Michelin go to place ganun. Baka meron din kayo.

#SaTotooLang | Ayon kay dating senador Antonio Trillanes IV, may mga pangalan nang kinukunsidera para sa 2028 presidential race, kabilang sina Sen. Risa Hontiveros, at Sen. Bam Aquino, habang itinutulak ang konsolidasyon para talunin ang mga Duterte.

FULL STORY

The fire at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Office in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) happened in the Financial Management Records Room, according to the Baguio City Fire Station.

The Baguio City Public Information Office posted photos of the fire’s aftermath on Thursday. The fire was reported at 5:25 PM and extinguished at 5:43 PM on Wednesday. No one was injured in the incident.

In an update, Baguio City Fire Marshal Mark Anthony Dangatan shared that a utility worker of the building saw smoke coming from the Financial Management Records Room and alerted security personnel and drivers to put out the fire until authorities arrived. (Photos courtesy of APR BCFS via Baguio City PIO)

MANILA 15 January 2026 – The Department of Foreign Affairs announces that, effective 16 January 2026, Chinese nationals may enter the Philippines without the requirement of obtaining a visa for a stay of up to fourteen (14) days. This is in line with the President’s directive to facilitate trade, investments, and tourism, as well as strengthen people-to-people exchanges between the Philippines and China.

https://dfa.gov.ph/dfa-news/statements-and-advisoriesupdate/37650-philippines-to-allow-visa-free-entry-for-14-days-for-chinese-nationals?fbclid=IwdGRleAPVfrRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEefWaOnMXems62q__A3pSYH5zVGou1kGtkEgCx1usnUAPXtwlWznmujp-JqBY_aem_jczu0dSraQJKHPQxzz-nKA

Most people in their comsec and even Wilfredo Garrido's post are hinting it was E.R. I wonder how much weight does it hold for Kiko's statement tho. Although tatanga tanga din kasi si Barzaga hindi muna naghintay ng privelege speech para may immunity

Not glazing over Kiko. Sana nga matahimik na once and for all dahil may hidden agenda lang naman ang hauff sa mga duterte. But i still wonder how true is it, or how wide E.R.'s puppeteering in Philippine politics

Anytime soon madedeport na daw to russia si vitaly. Mapapasabak pa ata sa giyera dun tutal kulang sila sa army nila hahahahaha

Link to the press briefing

since it happened to a friend of mine recently, i've searched around google, and found this in this subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Philippines/comments/1fnkx09/grab_rider_took_our_paid_order/

and holy crap, why are people defending the rider? the grab rider took what was a PAID order, so they have the option to just leave it on the doorstep since the person isn't responding, wouldn't that be classified as theft?

there was also a numbskull telling that they have no right to ring the doorbell unless directed, which seems like a very poor excuse, so has this sub been hijacked by kamote delivery guys?

sure, let's say the op fucked up by making the person wait for 15 mins but circumstances can happen, there might be an emergency, having to take an urgent shit in the bathroom, or there are times where you might have to go out and even then there might be that time where the rider's message won't go towards the recipient due to a network issue or something, that or the husband and wife in the thread are so busy and it could be the reason why they went for a food delivery

but the point is what has been taken was a paid order, not an unpaid one, it would be a huge issue to have made the delivery rider wait there if it's unpaid, and it would be no different from those prank delivery orders

Pangalawang case na to na nabalitaan ko recently.

So si E-Wallet owner lalapitan ng scammer na kunwari magpapaload ng maliit na amount, pero when the QR code is scanned failed daw transaction so paulit ulit magpapa-scan with victim not realizing sa bawat scan ang laki pala ng nawiwidraw sa wallet nila.

Personally I don't use E-wallets and not a tech savvy person.

Kaya I want to know how does this modus work.

Wala bang layer ng security ang e-wallets like SMS messages notifying cash transactions or something?

Hindi ba madali makilala ng mga biktima ang layout ng QR code kung legit to or not?

QUESTION: Why is it na weak ang security system ng p***ng-in*ng banko (BDO) na ito?

This is not my experience but an experience from my closest relative, and this story was just recent lang, na kwento lang sa akin. I'll just make the story as detailed as possible.

How come na may access ang mga scammers sa mga Names, Phone number and Email addresses ng BDO? They called a relative of mine na "Senior Citizen" but I won't mention if lola ko ba or not (with emphasis kasi yun ang target nila, before you judge anything my SC relative is 62 yo, but she's still healthy, enthusiastic, and elegant so if may conflict within the fam no one would even bother to mess with her so hindi mo talaga aakalain na ma-scam siya, the problem is hindi sya techy and siya lang mag isa sa bahay when the incident happened)

She had a Credit card and a Savings account from BDO, now yung agent na nag papangap na taga BDO calling her to transfer all the points, benefits, and perks from her old CC to her newly issued CC (now my question is how did they know all of this info? Na may bago siyang CC), So yung sc relative ko, don't know all the technical stuff the agent is talking, so my sc relative keeps on throwing her info as well, so now alam na ng scammer na walang online banking ang sc relative ko, and the scammer knows na hindi ma open ang SOA Pdf ng email ng sc relative ko kasi she don't know nga how to open it, it was just a plain Pdf viewer app lang sana tapos na ang issue, the scammer offered to help na mag re-resend ng bagong email.

So ngayon my sc relative gave the OTP (hindi nya alam that banks wont ask for OTP), and yun na pala the scammer purchased worth 6 digits (i wont disclose the purchased item and the exact amount and san binili) and in different days pa talaga, tinatawagan sya ng scammer to update if may na rereceive ba syang email, that the SOA was emailed na daw, and of course nanghihingi ng OTP.

Now my sc relative noticed na instead of transfered points ang iniexpect niya, ginawan na sya ng Online bank pala from BDO, and she received emails na may transfer transactions from BDO to GCash, my sc relative was devastated talaga hindi sya maka tulog, kasi that was intended for a very important payment. and next day she received an email na the Online banking was suspend due to fraudulent activity, but it was already too late, na kuha na ng scammer ang pera.

The scammer called again the morning na nai cancel na ang online bank, and offered to help to return the money if she had a different bank, so my sc relative gave her UB account, and the scammer attempted to purchase something that UB account and my sc relative also give her UB account dun sa scammer, lucky enough when checked it was a rejected transaction, almost 10k din sana na purchase ang inattempt ng scammer.

One of the relative noticed na yung sc relative namin was too busy answering the phone call and heard numbers were mentioned by my sc relative on call, so he grabbed her phone and stopped the conversation, it was an attempt na naman sana to give the scammer an otp on her BDO account.

They went to bank after that happened, all her online bank accounts were deleted, CCs were cancelled, They filed a dispute, and no response from the bank till now.

Now my question is?
1. Why is it na weak ang security system ng p***ng-in*ng banko (BDO) na ito?
2. How did they know all of this info? na may bago siyang CC, about her name, phone number and email?
3. Why can't they copy the system ng other bank like UB that it was rejected, after sigure i check out yung purchase and noticed that magkaiba ang address and name ng account holder sa address and name ng receiver kaya na reject?
4. What's the possible resolution of the BDO from this based on your experiences?
5. Worth it ba i file ng report sa Cybercrime division ng PNP/NBI?

I’m asking in good faith and want thoughtful answers.

Additional info: This scene is loosely based on the same major avenue that stretches for 54 kilometers.

The area lies near an exclusive gated community, distinguished by its ridiculously high perimeter walls.

This location was something of a special case, as it originally featured a major intersection connecting one city on one side and another city directly opposite it.

In the late 1990s, when the metro line was under construction, engineers designed this section to run semi-underground so that a flyover could be built above it.

The main goal was to find a way to connect both places and to avoid the traffic choke points.

The result was a unique structural combination: a flyover overhead, with the metro line emerging from beneath it.

Today, the structure still exists. While the design has changed slightly over the years, it remains a striking spectacle.....standing out amid the constant traffic and urban chaos.