Torre: PNP 'hopes for best, prepares for worst' ahead of SONA 2025
Torre made the statement after his charity boxing event in Manila where he was declared as winner by default, shortly before he headed to check on critical points of deployment to ensure the security for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr.'s fourth SONA at the Batasang Pambasa in Quezon City.
"After this, actually pupunta kami ng Baseco and then after we release the relief goods that we have, pupunta na kami sa areas kung saan ang critical points ng ating deployment sa SONA," Torre said.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said more than 20,000 police personnel have been deployed as part of security measures for the annual event.
When asked if the number of deployed cops for the SONA is overkill, Torre responded it is just part of their preparations. The NCRPO said nearly 23,000 police personnel will secure this year's SONA.
"We always respect the opinion of other people. Naniniguro lang tayo, we always hope for the best but we are prepared for the worst," said Torre.
(We are just making sure.)
In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, NCRPO spokesperson Police Major Hazel Asilo also said they have been closely coordinating with the intelligence community as part of their SONA preparations.
Meanwhile, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said it have traffic management and flood measures in place along Commonwealth Avenue for the SONA. — RF, GMA Integrated News
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5 hours ago
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But, it must also consciously develop them into problem-solvers, and into critical thinkers—hungry for success, ready for the future,' he said in his third presidential address. This was a resounding call to address the country's persistent learning crisis, one deepened by years of lockdowns due to the pandemic, and underinvestment despite the education sector being given the highest budgetary priority as mandated by the 1987 Constitution. A year later, Marcos is set to return to Batasang Pambansa to deliver his fourth SONA which marks the middle of his term as president. Where does the country stand now in terms of implementing the learning recovery program? In its year two report released in January, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) pointed out that the Department of Education's (DepEd) own National Learning Recovery Program (NLRP) faces 'significant criticism and is in need of massive reforms' due to certain flaws in its design. 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Angara said he believes that this new law would significantly improve Filipino students' performance in international assessments, like the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), in the long term. He, however, admitted that immediate results might not be evident in time for the 2025 PISA, which was held from March to April this year. Marcos had directed DepEd to prioritize improvements in the country's PISA scores after the 2022 results reflected Filipino learners' poor performance in mathematics, science, and reading. That time, the Philippines ranked sixth from the bottom among 81 participating countries and economies. A separate 2022 PISA report also revealed that Filipino students placed second to the last when it comes to creative thinking. These results mirrored the findings of the EDCOM 2, which noted that even after a decade of implementing the K to 12 system, Filipino students continue to fall behind regional and global peers in key academic competencies. Revised SHS curriculum Another key highlight in education since the previous SONA was the pilot implementation of the revised Senior High School (SHS) curriculum this School Year 2025-2026. Among the salient features of this new curriculum is the reduction of core subjects from the 15 being offered per semester, to just five that will be offered for a full year in Grade 11. These five new subjects are: Effective Communication (Mabisang Komunikasyon), Life Skills, General Mathematics, General Science, and Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino. This development came after Marcos, in August 2024, directed the rationalization of the SHS curriculum as he wanted to ensure that SHS graduates could acquire high-quality jobs. But calls for education reforms further escalated when it was revealed in congressional hearings earlier this year that approximately 5.58 million high school graduates, including junior high school completers aged 10 to 64, were considered "functionally illiterate" because of lack of comprehension skill. Angara said that the DepEd has been taking action to address the issue in order to prepare the children for a better future. Among the agency's interventions, he said, are intensifying remedial and literacy programs and the use of data in schools. He said teaching and assessment methods have also been improved, and the students are being honed to be critical thinkers and have 21st-century skills, instead of merely memorizing lessons. DepEd also revised its class suspension protocols, allowing schools and local government units (LGUs) to have more discretion when it comes to the declaration depending on real-time conditions. 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To realize this vision, DepEd began implementing several digitalization initiatives. Through a public-private partnership approach, the agency has been pursuing smart classrooms, ICT equipment, and upgraded e-learning materials, while aiming to improve digital connectivity nationwide. DepEd has also deployed smart TVs, laptops, and other devices to public schools to support digital learning and reduce reliance on printed modules. These tools are expected to enhance interactive and blended learning delivery in classrooms. Teachers and students in geographically isolated and underserved public schools are likewise expected to benefit from improved internet connectivity under the government's ongoing "Free WiFi for All" initiative. The road to full recovery remains steep. While the Marcos administration has made progress in addressing learning gaps, the scale of the education crisis in the country demands faster execution, deeper investments, and stronger accountability. With millions of students needing help and an entire generation at risk of being left behind, eyes and ears are now turned for Marcos' next SONA to know his next moves to improve the quality of education in the country. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
10 hours ago
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Inflation, economy, price of rice: Where PH stands since SONA 2024
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"Bagamat maganda ang mga istatistikang ito, wala itong kabuluhan sa ating kababayan na hinaharap ang realidad na mataas ang presyo ng mga bilihin, lalo na ang pagkain—lalo't higit, ng bigas," the President said. (Although the statistics are good, these mean nothing to our countrymen who face the reality of high prices of goods, especially food, and most especially, rice.) With this, Marcos declared 'hindi tayo titigil sa paglalaban sa kahirapan, at sa paghahanap ng lunas upang maibalik sa normal ang presyo ng bilihin—lalo na ang bigas [we will not stop in battling poverty and finding solutions to normalize the prices of goods—especially rice.]' IBON Foundation executive director Sonny Africa told GMA News Online that the President opened his 2024 SONA 'well, with the acknowledgement that the majority of Filipinos aren't feeling any benefits from hyped economic growth.' 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As of end-June 2025, inflation rate cooled down further to 1.8%. Also in June this year, food inflation—which tracks the price movements of food items in a "basket" commonly purchased by households—eased to 0.1% from 0.7% in May and from 6.5% in June of last year. This was on the back of a steeper deflation in rice at -14.3% from -12.8% in May. Rice prices Rice inflation has been contracting for six months in a row and is seen to end the year at a 'negative inflation' print, consistent with the PSA's expectation that it would begin easing towards the second half of 2024 due to base effects, particularly when it began its uptrend in August 2023, as well as the impact of lower rice import tariff which took effect early July last year. In the third year of his presidency, Marcos was able to fulfill his campaign promise of lowering the price of rice to P20 per kilo in a bid to ease the burden of consumers on the increasing price of one of Filipinos' basic food commodities. Initially launched in the Visayas region last April, at least 162 locations across the country have been offering the cheaper subsidized rice, according to the Department of Agriculture. Members of the vulnerable sectors are on the priority list of who can avail the P20 per kilo of rice. The P20-per-kilo rice initiative operates primarily through KADIWA ng Pangulo outlets. The rice is being sourced from stocks of the National Food Authority, which are procured directly from local farmers. The subsidized rice program not only ensures affordable food staple for consumers but also helps decongest NFA warehouses. Moreover, this will make space to purchase more palay at prices higher than those offered by private traders. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the target is to serve 15 million households or about 60 million people by the end of 2026. The DA also vowed to intensify the implementation of industry recovery and expansion programs, such as the Swine Industry Recovery Project (SIRP) and Livestock Economic Enterprise Development, to strengthen food supply chains. IBON Foundation's Africa, however, said programs of the administration 'will all be tokenistic and exaggerated public relations efforts if the government does not commit budgets, resources and energy commensurate to the magnitude of the problems at hand.' 'The President spoke about supporting agriculture but, if anything, the smaller share of the sector in the 2025 budget to 3.9% of the total from 4.1% in 2024 indicates a deprioritization of interventions that were already inadequate to begin with,' he said. GDP target missed As far as economic targets are concerned, the Marcos administration still has a far way to go, missing its GDP growth target for the second straight year. In 2024, the economy only grew by 5.7%, revised from earlier reported 5.6% growth, below the 6.0% to 7.0% target for the year. Growth surpassed the target ceiling in 2022 at 7.6%. As of the first quarter of 2025, the country's GDP grew by 5.4%, faster than the upwardly revised growth rate of 5.3% in the last quarter of 2024. With missed targets, the Development Budget Coordination Committee has slashed again the growth goals for 2025 to 5.5% to 6.5% range from the previous target of 6.0% to 8.0%. The economic team cited heightened global uncertainties, such as the unforeseen escalation of tensions in the Middle East and the imposition of US tariffs as considerations for adjusting the growth targets. Nonetheless, the administration's aspiration to elevate the Philippines to upper-middle-income country (UMIC) seems to be getting closer, as it missed the minimum for entering the UMIC bracket under the World Bank's classification by $26. The country remained a lower-middle-income economy as its GNI per capita in 2024 stood at $4,470, while the required GNI per capita to enter the UMIC roster was at $4,496 to $13,935. — BM/NB, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
17 hours ago
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More than P300K raised from ticket sales in charity boxing event with Baste, says Torre
Philippine National Police chief Police General Nicolas Torre III said more than P300,000 was raised from the ticket sales alone of the "Boxing for a Cause: Laban Para sa Nasalanta" event held at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila on Sunday. Torre was supposed to face Davao City acting mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte in the main event, although the former was declared winner by default as the latter did not show up. "Marami ang nagbayad. Nakalikom tayo ng mga P350,000 sa gates eh, so we have to show up and give the people what they expect," Torre told reporters. (Many paid [for tickets]. We were able to raise around P350,000 at the gates, so we have to show up and give the people what they expect.) Ticket prices for the boxing event ranged from as low as P100 to as high as P5,400. Including the ticket sales, Torre said they have raised around P16.3 million in cash donations, on top of donations in kind such as canned goods and sacks of rice. These will be for the benefit of Filipinos who were among those affected by the flooding due to the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) and tropical cyclones Crising, Dante, and Emong. According to Torre, they have coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Philippine Red Cross regarding the donations. The PNP chief added he will go to the Baseco community in Manila to distribute relief goods. Torre said the urgency of helping those in need of relief was the reason why the event pushed through as well, despite earlier statements that Duterte may not show up. "Kaming mga pulis ang first responders, nasa frontline kami, kaya nakita natin ang hirap ng ating mga kababayan. Nu'ng nag-issue ng ganu'ng statement si Vice Mayor [Duterte], nakita ko na uy, maganda ito. We can raise funds outside of government resources," Torre said. (We, the police, are first responders. We are on the frontline, so we saw the hardship experienced by our countrymen. When Vice Mayor issued a statement, I saw that, hey, this is good. We can raise fund outside of government resources.) Why did the event push through even if Davao City acting mayor Baste Duterte did not show up? Torre said they still wanted to raise funds for charity @gmanews — JK Carandang (@jk_carandang) July 27, 2025 "Ang government resources nandiyan naman pero maganda na rin siguro na 'yung nasa private sector and ibang tao na outside sa fund-generating agencies ng gobyerno ay makapag-generate din ng pondo at tulong sa ating kababayan," he added. (The government resources are there, but it's also good that the private sector and others outside the fund-generating agencies can generate funds to help our countrymen.) Torre vs Duterte II? Asked if he has a message for the Davao City vice mayor, Torre said, "Wala naman, walang dapat pag-usapan (None, there is nothing to talk about) after all the things that were said and done." Regarding Duterte's previous condition that government officials should undergo hair follicle test, Torre said the matter should be just between the two of them. "Kaming dalawa lang naman ang involved dito... Anytime, anywhere, puwedeng puwede na mag-hair follicle test kami," he said. (It's just us two who are involved here... Anytime, anywhere, we can have hair follicle test.) In the event that Duterte poses another challenge to Torre, the PNP chief said he would not respond to that for now. "Nakita n'yo naman na napakalaki ng effort na ating nilagay rito. I don't think he is worth responding to at this point in time. Hayaan na muna natin siya sa kaniyang mundo," Torre said. (You saw how much effort we put here. I don't think he is worth responding to at this point in time. Let us let him be in his own world.) And if the match is rescheduled as well? "Sabihin n'yo lang at tingnan natin anong isasagot natin diyan, but I don't think really there's still logic in anything that he's saying. Ang credibility kasi parang maloko mo ako ng isang beses, shame on you. 'Pag niloko mo ako ng dalawang beses, shame on me," Torre said. (Just tell us and we'll see how we will respond to that, but I don't think really there's still logic in anything that he's saying. As for credibility, if you fool me once, shame on you. If you fool me twice, shame on me.) "Hindi tayo sasali sa mga taong puwede niya lokohin all the time," he added. (We will not be among the people whom he can mock all the time.) Aside from the main event, three undercard matches were also held in the charity boxing event. —KG, GMA Integrated News
