November 15-21, 2025 Volume 36 - No. 46 • 1 Section – 14 Pages
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Longest US gov’t shutdown ends after 43 days of gridlock
USA
DATELINE President Trump signed the funding bill to end the longest-ever government shutdown, restoring federal services, food assistance and air travel operations nationwide Justice Department sues to AJP block California US House map, escalating fight over control of Congress from the AJPress NEWS TEAM across America
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LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Justice Department under President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Thursday, November 23, to block California’s newly approved congressional map, opening a major legal battle that could influence which party controls the House of Representatives after the 2026 midterm elections. The case targets new district lines created under Proposition 50, a constitutional amendment that voters approved in a November 4 special election. The measure authorizes a Legislature-drawn congressional map for elections from 2026 through 2030 and temporarily replaces boundaries crafted by the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission after the 2020 census. Supporters said California needed to respond to mid-decade partisan remapping in Texas and other Republican-led states. DOJ says California used race illegally to shape political boundaries In its filing, the Justice Department ar-
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WASHINGTON - The longest government shutdown in United States history ended Wednesday night, November 12, 2025, after forty three days of political stalemate that disrupted air travel, delayed food assistance for millions and forced more than a million federal workers to miss paychecks. President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan funding bill shortly after the House approved it, restoring
government operations that had been partially shut down since October 1. The closure surpassed the thirty five day shutdown of 2018 to 2019 and marked a new record for disruption and national impact. How the standoff began The federal fiscal year begins every October 1, when Congress must pass twelve appropriations bills or a temporary measure to keep agencies funded. This year, lawmakers did not agree on either option, triggering an automatic lapse in federal funding.
Zaldy Co’s P100-B budget allegation sparks scrutiny as officials push back Budget Secretary Pangandaman, Malacañang and key lawmakers highlight procedural flaws in Co’s account, stressing that any presidential directives must appear in the NEP by AJPress
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Paychecks to federal employees expected to resume this weekend as payroll systems restart
The impasse centered on the scheduled expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies in November 2025. Senate Democrats opposed a Republican plan that did not include an extension and warned that millions of Americans would face higher insurance premiums without continued assistance. Republicans argued that Democrats were using the subsidy issue to hold up the entire government budget and said the policy should be debated separately. u PAGE 2
BRISK BUSINESS. Lantern (parol) makers add lights to the Christmas ornaments at a stall in Quiapo, Manila on Friday, November 14. The lanterns made of capiz shells sell for PHP500 to PHP3,500, depending on the design. PNA photo by Yancy Lim
Federal employees who missed more than a month of paychecks during the forty three day government shutdown are expected to begin receiving back pay as early as Saturday, according to new guidance shared among agencies as operations restart. The shutdown, which began on October 1 and ended late Wednesday when President Donald Trump signed a stopgap funding bill, was the longest funding lapse in United States history. A planning document circulated by the White House Office of Management and Budget and reported by several national outlets indicates that the first wave of payments will be disbursed over the weekend, with most agencies completing back pay by November 19. Payroll offices across the federal govern-
Ex-DPWH chief Bonoan’s US trip draws scrutiny as flood-control probe widens
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Former Ako Bicol party-list representative Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co has set off a political storm after claiming that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman instructed him to help insert roughly P100 billion worth of projects into the 2025 national budget. Co described the alleged directive in a video posted on November 14. His claims have been firmly denied by the administration and met with skepticism from senators and budget experts who say the account conu PAGE 2
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure broadens its investigation to 80 projects as the former public works secretary departs to the United States by AJPress
MANILA — Former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel “Manny” Bonoan quietly left the Philippines for the United States on November 11, even as government investigators expanded their inquiry into alleged ghost and substandard
flood-control projects implemented under his watch. According to the Bureau of Immigration, Bonoan boarded a flight via Taiwan from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, bound for the U.S. The Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that there was Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile
Inquirer.net file photo
Lacson returns as Blue Ribbon chair Dela Rosa asks SC to block Juan Ponce Enrile dies at 101, as Senate revives flood-control probe ICC arrest: Executive martial law figure and Senate leader The Senate re-elects Panfilo Lacson as Blue Ribbon chair, reviving the flood-control corruption probe by AJPress
Sen. Panfilo Lacson Photo courtesy of Senate Social Media Unit
MANILA — The Senate on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, re-elected Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson as chair of the Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations (Blue Ribbon), reinstating the veteran lawmaker to one of the chamber’s most powerful oversight posts. The motion, introduced by Sen. JV Ejercito, was approved without objection and affirmed
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branch is overreaching by Tetch Torres-Tupas Inquirer.net
MANILA — Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has escalated his fight against a potential arrest order from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as he filed an urgent manifestation with the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the executive branch from bypassing domestic courts. In his urgent manifestation, dela Rosa told SC that immediately surrendering a Filipino citizen to ICC without a lawful court order is a violation, not only of Philippine laws,
but of the international framework that the Philippine government claims to be assisting. “The Statute envisions the participation of domestic courts, not their exclusion. Even among State Parties, compliance requires a written request, a copy of the warrant, and a judicial process to validate surrender,” read dela Rosa’s urgent manifestation filed on Thursday. The manifestation was filed despite still-unconfirmed, but widely reported, claims that an order had already been issued by the ICC for his arrest.
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by AJPress
MANILA – Juan Ponce Enrile, one of the most influential, controversial, and enduring figures in modern Philippine politics, died on Thursday, November 13, 2025. He was 101. His daughter, Administrator and CEO of CEZA (Cagayan Economic Zone Authority) Katrina Ponce Enrile, said her father passed away peacefully at home at 4:21 p.m., surrounded by family. He had been confined in an intensive care unit for pneumonia in the days before his death. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed condolences and described Enrile
as a long-standing presence in government whose influence extended across political eras. Born Juan Valentin Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr. on February 14, 1924 in Gonzaga, Cagayan, he rose from modest provincial beginnings to become a central figure in Philippine governance. His academic achievements played a major role in shaping his future. Enrile graduated cum laude from Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Business Administration, then earned his Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines, graduating cum laude. He placed eleventh in the u PAGE 2