Aldon Honor, CWP, CEPP, CIS

08/10/2025

Can we sue the politicians and government officials behind the flood control corruption? Because let’s be honest — their greed doesn’t just line their pockets; it bleeds the economy dry.

According to the SEC, corruption scandals and poor governance wiped out ₱1.7 trillion in market value. That’s not an abstract number — it represents lost investments, disappearing jobs, and shrinking confidence in our country’s future.

Every time public funds are stolen or projects are faked, it’s not just taxpayers who suffer — it’s every entrepreneur, every investor, every worker trying to move the country forward.

Corruption doesn’t just damage our roads and flood systems — it floods the market with fear, uncertainty, and lost opportunity.

Philippine stock market investors lost P1.7 trillion in just three weeks because of corruption behind anomalous flood control projects, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

READ MORE: https://inqnews.net/Corruptionstockmarket

25/08/2025

Politicians promise, MSMEs bleed, consumers pay.

That’s the 14th month bill in a nutshell.

•••

Almost every government “poverty alleviation plan” leans on the private sector—and this bill is a perfect example. Instead of crafting real mechanisms to reduce the cost of living (lower food prices, energy costs, transport fares), they throw another mandate on private companies: a 14th month pay.

On the surface, it sounds like a victory for workers. Who doesn’t want extra pay?

But let’s not kid ourselves.

For MSMEs—the backbone of our economy—this isn’t relief, it’s a burden.

These small businesses already run on razor-thin margins and day-to-day cash flow.

Add another mandatory month of salary and survival becomes harder than ever.

The likely result? Cutting jobs, freezing wages, shifting to contractuals, or worse—shutting down completely.

And when MSMEs can’t absorb the cost, where does it go? Straight to the people. Higher prices in your carinderia meal, steeper service fees, fewer job openings.

What was packaged as a “benefit” ends up being a hidden tax on consumers. It’s the same cycle every time: politicians score points by promising something shiny, but the burden falls on businesses and ordinary Filipinos.

The result? Increased costs across the board, with the poor squeezed even tighter.

Another headline that feels pro-people, but in practice, just another circus show.

A new House bill proposes giving private sector employees a 14th month pay by Christmas, citing “starvation poverty wages” as a key reason.

Full report in the link in the comments section.

21/08/2025

Seems like this senator came prepared—finally, some homework done.

But let’s not kid ourselves.

On the ground, it’s an open secret: politicians are usually the real masterminds behind corruption.

Kickbacks are their business model—take 20% from projects, then give back 1% through financial aid, giveaways, and gimmicks.

That’s why the masses end up saying, “maayo ni siya na politiko kay mutabang gyud”—without realizing that the politician has already pocketed far more than what’s been provided as “aid” for them.

Now that the issue has hit the media spotlight, the engineers are suddenly painted as the villains.

In truth, they’re just convenient scapegoats.

The real power players—the politicians and these CONG-tractors—need someone else to carry the blame.

Just another circus show…

Summary of Sen. Ping Lacson’s privilege speech on flood control corruption (Aug 20, 2025):

* Massive Budget, Little to Show
– Over ₱1.9 trillion spent from 2011–2025 on DPWH flood control projects
– ₱1 trillion poured in just 3 years (2023–2025) yet floods remain rampant, with newly built d**es collapsing after recent storms

* Systemic “Pie-Sharing” of Funds
– Kickbacks and commissions eat up as much as 60% of project funds, leaving only crumbs for actual work
– Breakdown of SOP cuts (for a ₱100M project):
–– 8–10% DPWH officials
–– 5–6% Bids and Awards Committee
–– 0.5–1% COA
–– 5–6% “Parking fee” to local politicians
–– 20–25% to funder/congressman
– Often, only 40% (₱40M out of ₱100M) left for real construction

* Ghost Projects (Guni-guni Projects)
– Entirely non-existent structures declared “completed” in official records
– Some “completed” projects turned out to be subdivision fences or old structures reused
– Contractors like Darcy and Anna Builders and Wawao Builders repeatedly implicated in fake or recycled projects

* DISTINCT “Coded Budgets”
– Identical project costs (e.g., multiple ₱77.199M contracts) flagged as “DISTINCT” — codes marking ownership of projects by politicians
– Example: Bulacan 1st District had 28 projects all pegged at ₱72M each under two notorious district engineers

* Case Studies of Corruption
– Candating, Arayat (Pampanga): Original ₱20M project ballooned to over ₱274.8M in repeated repairs, all awarded to the same favored contractor (Eddmari Construction), yet still collapsing
– Bauang River Basin (La Union): From only ₱100M in the NEP, congressional insertions inflated to ₱1.59B, all won by Silverwolves Construction
– Naujan, Oriental Mindoro: Received a staggering ₱19B flood control budget in 3 years, with ₱10B in 2025 alone. Multiple d**es collapsed within months due to substandard materials (sand-filled instead of reinforced)
– Apitong, Naujan (Mindoro): A supposed ₱193M completed d**e project turned out to be non-existent — pure ghost project
– Bulacan (Malolos & Hagonoy): At least 30 ghost projects uncovered, all tagged with identical amounts. Darcy and Anna Builders found to be a fake company with only a gym/e-payment shop at its registered address

* Casino-Linked Officials
– A Bulacan district engineer allegedly lost hundreds of millions in casinos, funded by corruption proceeds

* Political Insertions
– Projects branded as “Congressional Projects” under banners like AGILA, openly claimed by legislators
– Funded through unprogrammed appropriations despite stringent requirements, raising suspicions of undue political power

* Standard for Substandard
– Widespread use of weak materials, improper piling, and shortcuts in construction
– Locals report d**es crumbling after light rains or being eaten away from within

* Well-Organized Syndicate
– Inside Bulacan 1st Engineering District, a network of DPWH officials and contractors systematically fabricate ghost projects, using contractors’ licenses as cover

* Overall Takeaway
– Billions allocated, yet floods persist
– Clear evidence of political ownership, fund diversion, fake projects, and repeat “repairs” designed to funnel taxpayer money into private pockets
– Lacson warns: what Filipinos need is not more flood control, but “greed control”

14/08/2025

FTX victims are about to get 119% of their money back.

Plus 9% annual interest on their claims.

For the first time in bankruptcy history, victims will receive more than 100% of their funds back courtesy of one man: John Ray.

But While investors suffered for 2 years, someone else got rich off their pain.

And it wasn't Sam Bankman-Fried...

This is the story of how one man cleaned up an $8 billion mess and how others quietly turned that recovery into their own jackpot.

Meet John Ray III The cleanup man for corporate disasters.

The same man who sorted out Enron’s $63 billion collapse.

When FTX collapsed in November 2022, it was chaos:

- $8 billion in customer funds missing

- Only $900 million in liquid assets against $9 billion owed

- The founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was accused of one of the largest frauds in history

Most assumed the money was gone forever.

Not untill John Ray showed up

A Lawyer and corporate restructuring expert

The kind of man you call when everything is in ruins.

Ray inherited a wreckage.

FTX, once the 3rd largest crypto exchange with over a million users and celebrity
endorsements, had been poked from the inside.

Sam Bankman-Fried had funneled customer funds to his hedge fund, Alameda Research, using them for:

- Risky crypto trades
- Political donations
- Luxury Bahamas real estate
- Personal loans to executives

The company’s books were a made of 130+ shell companies, offshore accounts, and opaque crypto holdings.

Then he got exposed:

CoinDesk revealed Alameda's balance sheet was propped up by FTX's own token.

Rival exchange Binance announced they'd sell their FTX tokens.

Panic selling began immediately.

Customers rushed to withdraw their money.

Then it all came crashing down:

November 2022: FTX collapsed overnight.

FTX had only $900 million in liquid assets against $9 billion in liabilities.

The $8 billion customer funds were gone.

Sam Bankman-Fried resigned in disgrace.

Now there was a question:

How can all the lost money be recovered?

But Ray had done this before, and he knew

His first discovery was shocking: FTX had only 0.1% of customer Bitcoin and 1.2% of Ethereum.

But buried in the chaos, he found something extraordinary:

FTX wasn't just a crypto exchange.

It was a massive investment fund in disguise.

Bankman-Fried had secretly used customer money to buy stakes in:

- AI startup Anthropic
- 55.8 million Solana tokens
- Dozens of venture capital investments

How did they turn out?

In 2021, Bankman-Fried invested $500 million in the AI startup.

By 2024, that stake was worth $1.4 billion.

The bankruptcy team sold the stake for $884 million to Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund.

One investment recovered nearly a billion dollars alone.

Secondly, FTX held 55.8 million SOL tokens.

And the Solana surge?

When the exchange collapsed, SOL was trading at $20.

By 2024, it hit $40 per token.

That single crypto holding added over $1 billion to the recovery fund.

The legal team became financial detectives.

They traced money through:

- 130+ shell companies
- Offshore accounts in the Bahamas
- Luxury real estate purchases
- Political donations
- Personal investments

Every dollar was hunted down and clawed back.

The math was stunning:

- FTX owed customers: $11.2B
- Total recovered: $16.5B
- Surplus: $5.3B

In October 2024, Judge John Dorsey approved the payout plan:

98% of customers with claims under $50k will get 119% back within 60 days
Plus interest on their claims

But here’s the twist:

While victims celebrated, hedge funds made even more.

During the collapse, distressed asset buyers scooped up claims from desperate victims for 10–20 cents on the dollar.

When Ray’s recovery hit, those claims skyrocketed in value.

Example:

- Buy a $100,000 claim for $20,000
- Payout is $119,000
- Profit: $99,000 a 495% return in under two years

Some of these funds never lost a dime in FTX they just bet on John Ray.

In the end, John Ray didn’t just recover FTX’s money.

He rewrote the playbook for complex bankruptcies, proving that even in the messiest corporate crimes, it’s possible to make victims whole.

But he also proved something else:

In finance, recovery is never just about justice.
It’s also about who’s smart, or ruthless enough to profit from the wreckage.





Inside Trackers
Ifeanyi Christopher

01/08/2025

Scroll ka sa feed…
New job. New car. New business.
Then ikaw — still figuring things out.

You’re not behind.
You’re on a different timeline.

Don’t let comparison steal your peace.
Kay ang imong journey, worth it na.

Padayon lang.

29/07/2025

𝙆𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙮, 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙤 𝙙𝙞 𝙥𝙬𝙚𝙙𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙜.
Daghang naka-depende sa imo.
Trabaho, pamilya, responsibilidad — tanan ikaw.

But rest isn’t a reward.
It’s part of the process.

Dili ka robot.
You deserve to breathe.

Even a short pause can help you show up better.
Padayon, but not at the cost of your health.

28/07/2025

𝙎𝙖𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜…

Same chicken.
Same ingredients.
One was blasted at 900°F for an hour.
The other slow-cooked at 300°F for three.

That hit me.

Most people think turning up the heat—more hours, more pressure, more hustle—will get them there faster.

𝙒𝒓𝙤𝒏𝙜.

Too much intensity, too soon? You burn out.

The best results don’t come from force.
They come from controlled pressure over time.

And if it’s taking time?
That doesn’t mean you’re behind.
It means you’re doing it right.

Let everyone else chase heat.

You focus on precision and patience.

Because the real gains come to those who let things cook properly.

28/07/2025

25/07/2025

𝙈𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙨 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧… 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙣 𝘼𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚!

I’ll be proudly repesenting Mindanao in the Ayala Malls Picklemall Tournament • Men’s Advanced National Championship this weekend in Metro Manila!

✨ Here’s the scoop:

𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘈𝘺𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.

From being on the mic to smashing on court—kani na jud ang ultimate challenge!

🙏 Salamat kaayo to everyone who fueled this journey— sponsors, teammates, pamilya, ug kinsa pa’y nag‑ampo para namo.

We’ll bring our A‑game and play with heart, strategy, and pure Mindanao pride! 🇵🇭

Thank you CDOPC and PFOB for the posters 🔥

20/07/2025

46 years old. A DRAW. Still bagged ₱1 BILLION💰🇵🇭

Here’s the estimated breakdown:

💵 Guaranteed – $12M
💵 PPV Share – $4–5M
💵 Bonuses & Sponsors – ~$1M
🟰 Total: $17–18 MILLION (₱969M–₱1.03B)

Meanwhile, Barrios made just $500K–$1M.

At 46 years old, Manny still pockets over 7x more than the reigning champ. 🐐🥊

20/07/2025

𝙃𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙙.

Grateful to share the cinema stage with Jan Ocampo of The Present and Sir Dodong Cacanando—two powerful voices in the world of business and finance content.

As someone who’s spent the past decade working quietly in the background—training, coaching, building—I never imagined I’d one day speak alongside content creators whose videos have inspired hundreds of thousands (𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥).

Different voices.
Different experiences.
Different expertise.

But sharing one common goal:

𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆—with purpose, integrity, and long-term vision.

Big congrats to the BUKFEST 2025 organizers for creating a game-changing platform for Bukidnon’s business community. Huge respect and appreciation to James Michael and Izzy Roque - Fabros. Kudos to you guys and everyone who made it possible.

To all Bukidnon entrepreneurs: padayon lang—let’s keep building, and keep cheering for one another.

Mas taas atong makab-ot kung magkuyog ta.

“𝙆𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙝𝙖𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞 𝙩𝙖—𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙝𝙤𝙣 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙤
𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙖𝙨. 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙪𝙥, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨
𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙖 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙨.”

And if there’s anything I’m taking home from this experience, it’s this—𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚.

Keep serving. Keep showing up. Keep building.

Your moment will come.