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JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 5, 2026
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FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
Filipino in California pleads guilty to ISIS funding, bomb possession MANILA — A Filipino national who is a permanent resident in the United States pleaded guilty on Tuesday, January 27, to federal charges for sending money to suspected ISIS members and illegally possessing a homemade bomb. Mark Lorenzo Villanueva, a 29 year-old green card holder based in Long Beach, California, admitted to one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a news release by the US Attorney's Office in the central district of California. He has been in federal custody since August 2025. According to his plea agreement, Villanueva began communicating in February 2025 with someone claiming to be an ISIS fighter in Syria through a social media messaging platform. The individual instructed Villanueva on how to send money to Syria. Villanueva sent more than $1,600 in a
Impeachment proceedings against President Marcos formally begin House referral sends verified complaints to the justice committee, triggering the first constitutional review stage without a finding on the merits by AJPress MANILA — Impeachment proceedings against Ferdinand Marcos Jr. formally began after the House of Representatives referred two verified impeachment
complaints to the House Committee on Justice during plenary session on Monday, January 26. The referral followed the inclusion of both complaints in the Order of Business by the Committee on Rules. The Office of the Secretary
House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos recuses himself from impeachmentrelated discussions
Decision framed as a voluntary step to protect the credibility of House processes connected to impeachment matters involving his father
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by AJPress
House advances DHS funding as ICE spending divides lawmakers WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives on January 22 approved the Department of Homeland Security’s annual funding measure as part of a broader $1.2 trillion federal spending package, sending the legislation to the Senate days before a deadline to avert a partial government shutdown. The Homeland Security bill passed on a 220–207 vote, overcoming firm Democratic leadership opposition tied largely to continued funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The measure now awaits Senate consideration ahead of a January 30 funding deadline. A narrow vote under deadline pressure House leaders moved the bill forward as part of a multi-bill appropriations package intended to keep federal agencies operating through the remainder of the fiscal year. Supporters said the compressed timeline left little room for renegotiation, while critics argued that urgency was used to sidestep deeper policy disputes over immigration enforcement. u PAGE 4
General read the entries during the Additional Reference of Business, a standard parliamentary procedure conducted between lawmakers’ privilege speeches. u PAGE 2
LUCKY RED. Sidewalk stalls sprout in Manila’s Binondo District, the world’s oldest Chinatown, on Thursday (Jan. 29, 2026). The Chinese Lunar New Year on Feb. 17 will kick off the Year of the Fire Horse. PNA photo by Joan Bondoc
MANILA — House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos has formally recused himself from all deliberations of the House Committee on Rules related to impeachment matters involving his father, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., citing the need to preserve the integrity of the House of Representatives and maintain public trust in the legislative process. In a written statement released Monday, January 26, 2026, Marcos said the decision was voluntary and not required under existing law. u PAGE 2
Senate completes reshuffle of ethics committee membership Ethics panel removes Bato dela Rosa and Joel Villanueva as committee members by AJPress
MANILA — The Senate of the Philippines has completed changes to the membership of its Committee on Ethics and Privileges, formally reconstituting the panel after weeks in which it operated without a full roster. The revised committee lineup was approved during a plenary session following
a motion by Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri. The changes were adopted without objection, in line with Senate rules governing standing committee organization. As part of the reshuffle, Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Joel Villanueva were removed from the ethics panel. Their replacement finalized the committee’s comu PAGE 2
Bong Revilla moved to QC jail Henry Alcantara now in SC junks House appeal witness protection — DOJ general population after on Sara impeachment completing medical quarantine Vice President Sara Duterte
by Ian Laqui Philstar.com
by AJPress QUEZON CITY — Former Senator Bong Revilla has been transferred to the general population of the New Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory after completing the mandatory seven-day medical quarantine for newly admitted detainees, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla arrives at the (BJMP) confirmed. Sandiganbayan in Quezon City for the return BJMP officials said Revilla was of warrant last January 20, in connection moved out of quarantine earlier with the anomalies plaguing an infrastructure this week and is now sharing a project in Pandi, Bulacan. Inquirer.net photo Grig Montegrande
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MANILA — Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) District Engineer Henry Alcantara is now in the custody of the Witness Protection Program (WPP). Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida confirmed with reporters on Wednesday, January 21, that Alcantara is now at WPP. "He is under now, officially, under the protective custody of the Witness Protection Program of the Department of Justice," Vida told reporters. When asked where he would be brought, Vida said: "Any fur-
ther information with exactly those details we cannot disclose." Alcantara was earlier turned over by the Senate to the Department of Justice upon the agency's request, as he is a state witness in the flood control scandal. On January 15, three former DPWH officials and one contractor were admitted as state witnesses in cases involving alleged anomalous flood control projects. One of the four officials is Alcantara, who has returned ill-gotten wealth amounting to P181 million. Other state witnesses include contractor Sally Santos, former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo and Gerard Opulencia. n
Photo from Facebook/@MayorIndaySaraDuterte
by Daphne Galvez Philstar.com
MANILA — The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld its ruling declaring the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte as unconstitutional for violating the one-year bar rule, denying with finality the motion for reconsideration of the House of Representatives. Court spokesperson Camille Sue Mae Ting said 14 justices voted on the ruling, with Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa abstaining and Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh unavail-
able as she was on leave. In its plea for the SC to reconsider its ruling, the House argued that the fourth impeachment complaint against the vice president was not yet covered by the one-year bar rule under Article XI, Section 3, subsection (5) of the Constitution. The fourth impeachment complaint had been endorsed by one-third of House members and transmitted to the Senate on Feb. 6. “We thank the Honorable Court for a ruling that now definitively lays down clear and u PAGE 4