Rebuilt and recharged: Cignal's journey bears fruit as it eyes breakthrough PVL title

 

Cignal's journey is far from over. (PVL Images)

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

Published Apr 16, 2026 01:50 pm

But the job is far from finished. While the Super Spikers have already showcased their resilience and growth, they are now setting their sights on a long-awaited breakthrough title.

Two years into its rebuilding stage, Cignal has returned to familiar territory after securing a finals berth in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.

But the job is far from finished. While the Super Spikers have already showcased their resilience and growth, they are now setting their sights on a long-awaited breakthrough title.

“It’s hard for us to answer kasi parang, we can’t explain how deep this is for us,” said Vanie Gandler, who has been instrumental in Cignal’s run including in their 25-13, 13-25, 25-16, 25-16 victory over fancied Creamline a few days back that sealed their spot in the championship round.

“Kasi we know how hard we worked for this. I just have so much gratitude for the team kasi we just want the best for each other,” added the feisty spiker, who erupted for 24 points in that match.

The road to this stage has been far from easy, marked by adjustments and transitions that proved challenging to navigate. After a runner-up finish in the 2024 Invitational, the team saw the departure of several core players, forcing them to rebuild and reinvent around a refreshed lineup.

They failed to replicate that finals run in the following conference, slipping to ninth place in the 2024-25 All-Filipino before briefly bouncing back with a fourth-place finish in the PVL On Tour.

They failed to sustain that semis run in the next two conferences, though, finishing fifth in the Invitational, and seventh in the Reinforced.

But the Super Spikers have shown that patience and perseverance can go a long way, and those efforts are now starting to pay off.

“Sobrang dami ng sakit na naramdaman namin, siguro for how many years and conferences talagang hindi kami nainip. Tinanggap lang namin yung mga bagay na kailangan nating matanggap and sobrang natuto kami dun,” said Cignal coach Shaq delos Santos.

“Good thing kasi di kami nag-give up and yeah, sobrang sarap sa pakiramdam na papasok kami sa finals,” he added.

With Vanie Gandler, Erika Santos, Roselyn Doria, Tin Tiamzon, and Gel Cayuna forming the core, Cignal now awaits its finals opponent, as Creamline and Farm Fresh battle for the other berth at press time.

In the meantime, the Super Spikers aim to sustain their momentum as they take on PLDT, also as of press time.

Teachers, the hands that shape a nation

 

By Manila Bulletin Newsroom

Published Apr 17, 2026 12:05 am | Updated Apr 16, 2026 06:15 pm

When President Marcos described the decades-long wait for teacher promotions as “unfair,” he did more than acknowledge a bureaucratic flaw. He was underscoring a deeper reality about how the nation has long undervalued those who build its future. The passage of Republic Act No. 12288, "Career Progression System for Public School Teachers and School Leaders Act, signals a step in the right direction. But reforms on paper are only the beginning. Sustained support for teachers must remain a national priority, not a passing policy trend.

Teachers are not merely employees within our education system. They are, in fact, the architects of society itself. Every engineer who designs bridges, every doctor who saves lives, every entrepreneur who drives economic growth, and every leader who shapes policy begins their journey under the guidance of a teacher. Remove teachers from the equation, and the entire structure of national development collapses. Their influence is not confined to classrooms, it ripples across industries, institutions, and generations.

Yet for all their importance, teachers have often been asked to give more than they receive. Behind every lesson delivered is a quiet, unseen labor: hours spent crafting lesson plans, nights dedicated to mastering new teaching methods, and weekends sacrificed to ensure students do not fall behind. In many parts of the country, teaching is not just intellectually demanding, it is physically taxing. Some educators travel long distances, trekking through rough terrain or crossing rivers, just to reach remote schools where their presence can mean the difference between opportunity and neglect.

The Expanded Career Progression system recognizes that teachers deserve more than gratitude. They equally deserve growth. By offering clearer pathways—whether in classroom instruction or school administration—it addresses a long-standing frustration: the stagnation that has driven many talented educators away from the profession. A system that rewards competence, dedication, and innovation is essential not only for retaining teachers but for attracting the next generation to the field.

But career progression alone cannot carry the weight of reform. Support must be holistic. Competitive compensation, continuous professional development, access to modern resources, and improved working conditions are necessities they so deserved. If the nation expects teachers to produce globally competitive graduates, it must also provide them with the tools and environment to succeed.

There is also a cultural dimension that policy cannot legislate; it is respect for teachers that must be deeply ingrained in society. Too often, their contributions are acknowledged only during ceremonies or commemorations, while their daily struggles remain overlooked. A genuine culture of respect means listening to their concerns, involving them in decision-making, and recognizing their expertise as professionals.

The stakes are high. Education is not a short-term investment; it is a generational one. The quality of today’s teaching will determine the competence of tomorrow’s workforce and the integrity of future leadership. In this sense, supporting teachers is not simply about improving schools; it is about securing the nation’s trajectory.

It is easy to celebrate innovation, infrastructure, and economic growth. These are outcomes of a foundation that was developed. But at the root of every national achievement is a teacher who once stood before a student and made learning possible.

If the country is serious about shaping its future, it must remain equally serious about those who shape its people. Policies like the ECP system are promising, but they must be sustained, expanded, and matched with unwavering commitment. Because in the end, nation-building does not begin in boardrooms or government halls; it begins in classrooms, in the steady hands of teachers who carry the weight of tomorrow.

This is why we have to honor our teachers by equipping and supporting them every step of the way.

Actress Sue Prado dies at 44

 

By Carissa Alcantara

Published Apr 16, 2026 07:21 am

Actress Sue Prado has passed away.

She was 44.

Her death was confirmed by her sister, May Shereen, in a Facebook post on Apr. 15. The cause of her death was not revealed. 

The post read: 

"Our dearest Sue M. Prado has become a constant star in the night sky.

It is with profound pain that we share Sue’s passing. Sue brought light to anyone’s path throughout her life. A life lived for others, for the craft she nourished, and for those whom she loved most.

Please celebrate her in any way you know how, and honor her memory through kindness.

Viewing details will follow."

Some of the projects Sue has done include “Barber’s Tales,” “Oro,” “Area,” “Himpapawid,” “Dagsin,” “Thelma,” “Ilustrado,” and “Madrasta.”

She also appeared in “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano.” 

Apart from that, she was also part of the series “Gameboys,” “Abot Kamay na Pangarap,” “Prinsesa ng City Jail,” and “My Father’s Wife.”

The actress was also part of the jury for the 3rd Sharm El Sheikh Asian Film Festival (SAFF) in 2019.

The actress was supposed to celebrate her 45th birthday on May 18.

Freedom of spirit

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

LET’S hope that more and more of us get familiar with this freedom of spirit which is actually the true freedom meant for us. It’s not a freedom that is guided only by our own estimation that is steered only by our reason, by some social trends and ideologies, and much less by our animal instincts and urges.

To arrive at this knowledge about our true freedom which is the freedom of spirit, we need to ask ourselves the existential questions of where we came from, what the meaning and purpose of our life are, etc. For this, we just have to go from the natural and social sciences and to launch into the philosophical, metaphysical and theological.

This freedom of spirit is where we act in accord with God’s truth and goodness. It is exercised at the instance of the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Our freedom is not simply the power to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate acts of our own. Our freedom attains its perfection when directed toward God, the sovereign Good, from whom we come and to whom we are destined to share in his very life and nature.

This is the freedom that was won for us by Christ who redeemed us from the bondage of sin. That is why St. Paul said: “For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Gal 5,1) And it is in Christ that we share in the truth that would set us free, as again articulated by St. Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthians where he said: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (3,17)

This is the kind of freedom that springs from an inner habit of virtue and not merely from some external command. This is when we do things under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and do it willingly, with our whole heart.

This can only mean that our true freedom is the result of our docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the promptings of the grace of God, making us free and effective collaborators in God’s continuing work of human redemption that would complete our creation by him. Our freedom is not meant only to achieve an earthly and temporal goal.

In other words, this freedom of spirit enables us to grow in docility to God’s grace, and to collaborate freely with God, serving others with love and building a society on the basis of truth, justice and charity. It also protects us from the slavery of sin, from worldly pressures and false liberties that lead to license.

We can have this freedom of spirit if we live by faith in God. It is made alive especially through the sacraments—Baptism, Penance and the Holy Eucharist. It is nurtured in prayer and the continuous growth of the virtues.

The role of prayer is crucial because that is where we can discern and embrace  God’s will. St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, said in effect in this regard that we must pray to be able truly to know what God wants. (cfr. 8,27)

It’s clear that this freedom of spirit is a matter of being docile to the promptings of grace. It is what perfects our natural freedom, aligning it with the will and the ways of God. It’s important that we form our conscience according to the truths of our faith. For this, a lifelong formation of conscience is needed. Our freedom of conscience should be the freedom of spirit!

What is life like in the Philippines?

 

Ghemma Marie

 

Working NomadApr 7

This question was originally posted 15 years ago but its been revised and merged by Quora moderation. If I’m going to answer this base on my situation 15 years ago, I would say life in the Philippines is like living in a bubble.

Btw I’m not an expat, so my answer is base on a different perspective. But living outside the Philippines for a short while, I can see the difference how Filipino culture makes them standout, but at the same time, its the same reason preventing them/us from overcoming poverty.

Your quality of lifestyle there depends on your capability to sustain a certain “average” standard of living. There are rich, upper/middle/lower class, poor, “poorest” of the poor. So which one? Speaking as someone who live in the rural north, I can say its pretty exciting and challenging. I experienced the perks of simplicity living in the rural.

Life is good for sure to those rich and in those living the middle class range. They can afford to travel, unwind from time to time and they don’t worry that much when calamity strikes. The Philippines is a tropical paradise to those who can afford it but a total shithole to those who can’t.

At least that’s how I can see it. The only thing that makes the Philippines “remarkable” is how friendly and approachable most people are. You can ask anyone for, say, a direction of specific location and they don’t hesitate to help you.

Now, the reason why I say living there is like living inside a bubble is almost everyone is super occupied with themselves. Gossip. Systemic problems. There's nothing wrong with that, only we are distracted with all those systemic problems and how to survive on our own, we don’t know what’s happening outside our perimeter, we focus on how we provide the next dinner on the table – and honestly, that’s convenient for those in power. When was the last time Filipinos talked as a country about where the world is going?

From sari-sari stores to global systems: Why trust matters

 

BY CHIQUI ESCAREAL-GO

APRIL 17, 2026

Chiqui Escareal-Go —CONTRIBUTED

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Strategy is patience

We tend to explain today’s instability in geopolitical terms—conflict zones, trade routes, shifting alliances. But beneath all of that runs a deeper strain: trust.

When trust breaks at the level of nations and institutions, the consequences don’t stay abstract. They show up in higher fuel costs, tighter margins and consumers whose purchasing power steadily erodes.

We are, in many ways, downstream of that collapse.

What we are witnessing globally is not simply a failure of diplomacy or policy. It is the erosion of the basic conditions that makes cooperation possible.

When trust collapses, negotiation gives way to force—and the cost doesn’t stay with leaders. It moves outward into markets, into systems, into everyday life.

This is not new. It is a pattern as old as exchange itself.

Trust: Original infrastructure

Long before contracts and currencies existed, exchange had depended on credibility.

Early communities traded out of necessity, but survival rested on something deeper than the goods themselves. You had fish. I had rice. We made a deal.

But the real transaction was never just about goods—it was about belief. Will you cheat me?

If you gave me bad fish today, I might not live through tomorrow. If I cannot trust you, I cannot trade with you. And if I cannot trade, neither of us survives.

Trust was not the soft side of early commerce. It was the entire infrastructure.

This held not only between individuals but across communities with every reason to distrust one another. The groups that found a way to build trust­—despite risk, despite difference—were the ones that grew. The rest disappeared.

The question “Can I trust you?” has never left commerce. It has only grown more complex.

The same question, digitized

In the Philippines, that ancient logic persisted in everyday life. The sari-sari store was not merely a retail model—it was a trust system.

When the lola said “utang muna, babayaran ko sa Biyernes ( Put it on my tab, I will pay on Friday)” and the manang said yes, there was no paperwork, no formal enforcement mechanism beyond reputation and relational accountability.

Trust functioned as currency. Relationships acted as collateral. Consistency became credit.

Today, we operate in a digital marketplace defined by speed and scale. Yet behavior tells a different story. We spend disproportionate time validating sellers, choosing payment methods and documenting proof of transactions.

In a market where online scams are prevalent, the caution is justified. And yet, participation continues—because consumers are not necessarily naive. They engage because they are still willing to believe that someone, somewhere, is worth trusting.

That willingness is not a weakness. It is latent demand.

And that hunger to trust is the biggest business opportunity in the room today.

The market is not asking organizations to be perfect. It is asking them to be predictable.

Trust is not built through messaging. It is built through repeated, consistent delivery—especially when it is inconvenient.

Culture starts it. Systems sustain it.

Filipino culture provides a strong foundation: kapwa, loob and malasakit (shared identity, mutual trust and care). These values shape what people believe is right. But under pressure —when incentives shift, when costs rise, when no one is watching—belief alone is not enough.

Systems determine behavior

Organizations consistently overestimate the power of culture and underestimate the power of governance.

Values statements are easy to articulate. Designing structures where honesty is safe, accountability is enforced and the right action is also the easiest one—that is far harder.

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Consider Toyota’s production system, where any worker can stop the assembly line without penalty. That andon cord makes honesty safer than silence and quality a shared responsibility. Consider Grab’s localized platform decisions—cash payments, transparent pricing, safety features—which are designed around real user constraints, lowering the barriers to participation and trust.

Consider Singapore’s institutional discipline, where accountability is not selective but systemic and integrity is predictable rather than optional.

In each case, trust is not assumed. It is deliberately engineered.

From virtue to advantage

This is the shift leaders must make.

Stop treating trust as a communications strategy. Trust is not what organizations say—it is what their systems do when commitments are tested.

Stop assuming that culture alone will sustain it. Culture is where trust begins; systems are where it is proven.

And start measuring trust with the same rigor as financial performance. In markets where consumers demand proof before belief, trust is not a soft metric. It is a driver of growth.

The question that governed early barter still governs today’s most advanced transactions. It determines whether customers convert, whether partners stay, whether institutions endure.

The world has not run out of resources. It has run out of trust.

Rebuilding it will not happen through declarations at the top. It will happen through decisions on the ground—in the way organizations design their systems, enforce their standards and behave when tradeoffs become real.

It grows the way it always has: between two people trading fish and rice, between a manang and a lola at the sari-sari store, between an online seller and a buyer with screenshots as their only assurance.

Organizations that get this right will not just grow. They will be the ones still standing when others are not.

Chiqui Escareal-Go is a marketing anthropologist and CEO of Mansmith and Fielders Inc. This piece was delivered at the opening of the 17th Mansmith Market Masters Conference. For in-house invitations or inquiries, please email info@mansmith.net.

National Artist Nora Aunor on her first death anniversary

 Today, we remember Superstar and National Artist Nora Aunor on her first death anniversary.

Also known as “Ate Guy,” she was a cultural icon and legend to many for mastering singing, dancing, and acting in theater, on the silver screen, and on the radio. She was also the most celebrated and the most awarded actress in Philippine show business.

She died of acute respiratory failure.

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