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DAILY BRIEF
MCT DAILY BRIEF: OCTOBER 30, 2026 · EVENING
Good evening. Mayon’s midday eruption and the higher alert level lead this brief. We also look at a court order forfeiting money linked to an alleged bribery attempt, and a competition regulator’s penalty for late electricity-market reports. The dates and limits matter: the forfeiture decision is not final, while the corporate fine announced today was paid earlier this month.
1
MAYON RAISED TO ALERT LEVEL 3 AFTER MIDDAY ERUPTION
PHIVOLCS raised Mayon Volcano in Albay from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 3 on October 30 after a moderately explosive eruption at 11:53 a.m. Its 12:30 p.m. bulletin reported an ash plume rising 3,000 metres above the summit. Ashfall was expected in Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan and nearby municipalities.
The agency recommended evacuating the six-kilometre Permanent Danger Zone because of volcanic hazards, including lava flows and pyroclastic density currents—fast-moving mixtures of hot gas, ash and rock. It said Mayon had entered a new phase of magmatic eruption, with an increased chance of dangerous activity over the coming days to weeks. The bulletin did not report how many residents had already evacuated. Residents should follow current PHIVOLCS and local authorities’ instructions.
2
COURT ORDERS ₱3.12 MILLION FORFEITED; DECISION NOT YET FINAL
The Anti-Money Laundering Council announced on October 29 that a Batangas Regional Trial Court had ordered the forfeiture of ₱3.12 million in an October 9 decision. The AMLC said a government officer allegedly offered the money to persuade a lawmaker to stop investigating certain government projects. The funds allegedly came from a contractor. The agency said the lawmaker refused and sought police assistance.
The Office of the Solicitor General represented the AMLC in the civil forfeiture case. The agency expressly said the decision had not yet become final and remained subject to appeal. Its release did not name the people involved or identify the projects. This is a civil forfeiture order concerning the money, not a criminal conviction.
3
MGEN PAID ₱5.8 MILLION PENALTY OVER LATE REPORTS
The Philippine Competition Commission said on October 30 that Pilipinas Enterprise Management Holdings, Inc. and MERALCO PowerGen Corp. were liable for a single ₱5.8 million administrative penalty over three late quarterly electricity-market reports. The total was ₱5.8 million, not that amount for each company. The PCC said MGen paid the penalty on October 16, with the proceeds remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury.
The reports concerned Global Energy Supply Corporation for the first three quarters of 2025 and were required under commitments accepted as a condition of merger clearance. According to the PCC, the companies attributed the delays to oversight, human error and misunderstanding, explanations the commission rejected. The finding concerns missed reporting deadlines, not a finding of price-fixing.
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