MCT DAILY BRIEF

Paolo Duterte files libel complaints over cash-delivery allegations

Davao City Representative Paolo Duterte has filed libel and cyberlibel complaints against NBI Director Melvin Matibag, Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., and GMA executives and journalists, according to News5.

The complaints were filed before the Davao City Prosecutor’s Office. Duterte accused the respondents of spreading false claims against him and his family. The dispute concerns reporting on alleged cash deliveries involving the Dutertes.

The filing does not establish that the reports were defamatory or that the underlying allegations were true. Those are questions for the evidence and the proceedings that follow. The full complaint would also show precisely which statements Duterte is challenging and how he connects each respondent to them.

ICC prosecutors seek to use three more recorded witness accounts

ICC prosecutors have asked to introduce previously recorded testimony from three witnesses in Rodrigo Duterte’s case.

The application was dated October 19, with a public redacted version listed on October 21. Reports published today brought the request to wider attention.

Under the procedure described in the application, the witnesses would still appear, confirm their accounts, and be available for questioning. It should not be read as a proposal to replace their appearance with recordings alone.

The prosecution is asking the judges for permission. The request itself is neither approval to admit the accounts nor a finding that their contents are true.

For readers following the case, the next useful document is the court’s response.

SWS finds divided views on the impeachment trial

An SWS report released October 22 found that 42 percent of adult Filipinos were closely following Vice President Sara Duterte’s Senate impeachment trial.

Thirty-nine percent thought the proceedings were moving too slowly, while 31 percent considered the pace about right. On confidence in a fair Senate decision, 28 percent expressed much trust and 35 percent little trust.

There is an important date to keep in mind.

The interviews took place September 21–27, before the October 13 withdrawal of three impeachment articles. These results cannot tell us what respondents thought about that later decision.

The survey covered 1,500 adults through face-to-face interviews, with a national margin of error of ±3 percentage points. It measured public opinion about the proceedings, not whether the accusations had been proven.

Former health chiefs question a sharp cut in prevention funding

Three former health secretaries have raised concerns about the proposed 2027 budget for the Health Promotion Bureau.

Jaime Galvez Tan, Esperanza Cabral, and Manuel Dayrit said the allocation fell from ₱2.5 billion in the administration’s spending proposal to ₱485 million in the House-approved budget bill.

The bureau’s work includes helping people understand how to prevent illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and other noncommunicable diseases. The former secretaries warned that reducing prevention funding could leave families more exposed to illness and increase spending on treatment later.

That warning concerns a proposed allocation. The budget bill is still before the Senate, so the amount can still change.

Congress should explain which activities would lose funding and what support would remain available to communities.

Gasoline may fall again, while diesel could rise

Early estimates for the week of October 26 point to another gasoline rollback but a diesel increase.

GMA reported an industry estimate of a ₱1–₱1.50-per-liter gasoline reduction and a ₱1.50–₱2.50 diesel increase. Those calculations used four trading days of international price and exchange-rate data.

They are not final pump-price announcements.

If the gasoline estimate holds, a 20-liter purchase would cost roughly ₱20–₱30 less. For diesel, the estimated increase would add about ₱30–₱50 to the same quantity.

The remaining trading data and company calculations can still change those amounts. Drivers should wait for the final notices before treating any estimate as the price they will pay.