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Volume 24 - No. 52 • 12 Pages
T h e F i l i p i n o A m e r i ca n C o m mu n i t y N e ws pa p e r
Volume 18 - No. 17 • 2 Sections – 16 Pages
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DATELINE
USA
from the AJPress NEWS TEAM across America
States sue to block funding move that could shutter Consumer Financial Protection Bureau A coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia has filed suit seeking to block actions they say could force the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to suspend operations by cutting off its primary funding source. Filed in federal court in Oregon, the lawsuit names the bureau, its acting director, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System as defendants. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the challenged funding posture unlawful and to prevent what they describe as an imminent disruption to the agency’s operations. Statutory funding mechanism becomes focal point of dispute At the center of the case is the interpretation of a Dodd-Frank Act provision governing how the CFPB is funded. The statute authorizes the bureau to draw quarterly funding from the Federal Reserve in an amount the CFPB director determines is “reasonably necessary” to carry u PAGE 4
December 26, 2025 - january 1, 2026
Flood-control spending probe becomes defining Philippine story of 2025 by AJPress MANILA — The Philippines’ defining story of 2025 was not a single election or diplomatic breakthrough but the sustained scrutiny of flood-control spending that followed repeated flooding and a growing body of official audit findings, legislative inquiries, and in-
ter-agency investigations into public works projects worth billions of pesos. What began as renewed concern over monsoon- and typhoon-driven inundation evolved into a broader examination of governance: how flood-control funds were planned, awarded, implemented, and audited, and whether institutions tasked with
Yearend 2025:
The foreign affairs front on sovereignty, scandals and the long arm of the law by Charie Abarca, Jason Sigales, John Eric Mendoza, Tetch Torres-Tupas Inquirer.net
New York street named after José Rizal in honor of Filipino migrants An intersection in Woodside, an area in Queens with a large Filipino population, has been named Dr. José Rizal Way NEW YORK — An intersection in Woodside, an area in the New York City borough of Queens with a large Filipino population, has been named Dr. José Rizal Way in honor of the Philippine national hero and Filipino migrants. Elected officials joined residents, members of the Knights of Rizal and other Filipino American organizations in New York last week at the ceremony co-naming the corner of 58th Street and Woodside Avenue in Woodside. The celebration was led by Philippine Consul General in New York Senen Mangalile, Assemblyman Steven Raga, City Councilwoman Julie Won and Rep. Grace u PAGE 4
oversight could credibly account for outcomes on the ground. Scale of spending under the spotlight In his State of the Nation Address in July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government had allocated roughly P545 billion for flood-control proju PAGE 3
HOLIDAY EXODUS. Passengers, mostly bound for Bicol and the Visayas, troop to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) on Monday (Dec. 22, 2025), three days before Christmas. The PITX management is expecting the passenger volume to peak on Tuesday (Dec. 23), the last working day before the long Christmas holidays. PNA photo by Avito Dalan
MANILA— The arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte is among the surprise developments in the country that gained world attention in 2025. East Timor’s extradition of expelled Negros Oriental Rep. Arnie Teves, the collision of Chinese ships in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, the extradition appeal made by the United States government against Apollo Quiboloy, Harry Roque’s disappearance, resigned legislator Zaldy Co’s involvement in the flood control scandal and news reports, protested by the government, branding the Philippines as an ISIS hot spot also hogged 2025’s international headlines. The fall of ‘the Punisher’: Duterte’s arrest by the ICC In 2024, former President Rodrigo Duterte dared the International Criminal Court (ICC) to speed up its investigation into the killings connected to his administrau PAGE 4
No holiday visits for Duterte by Bella Cariaso Philstar.com
MANILA — Detained former President Rodrigo Duterte will be spending Christmas and New Year without his family, following International Criminal Court (ICC) rules barring visitation during the holidays. Duterte’s youngest daughter Veronica or Kitty confirmed the news on vlogger Alvin & Tourism’s Facebook page, saying that she had informed her father about it. “He just learned of it a while ago. Honestly, he was quite disappointed…when I told him that we couldn’t visit on the days which are
Christmas and New Year, but I did tell him that I’ll just wait for him there and shout or something. I told him that we’re close, we’re just close. We’re outside. His family, Mira, my mother and I will be outside along with his Filipino supporters. Also, obviously, his foreign supporters,” Kitty said. Kitty said the detainees hold their own celebration inside the detention cell. “I do not know when or how they’re going to do it. I just know that they usually gather together. It’s up to him if he wants to join,” Kitty said. Kitty arrived in The Hague on Dec. 19. u PAGE 4
Former DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral
Inquirer.net file photo
Plunder, graft complaints filed DOT logs 5.6M tourists, expects Cabral case becomes vs Recto, ex-PhilHealth chief return of Chinese market in 2026 focus of police, anti-graft, over P60 billion fund transfer and congressional review by Joyce Ann Rocamora Philippine News Agency
by AJPress
MANILA — A citizens’ group has filed plunder, graft, and related complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and former Philippine Health Insurance Corp. president and chief executive Emmanuel Ledesma Jr., seeking a criminal and administrative investigation into the transfer of P60 billion in PhilHealth funds to the National Treasury. The complainants, who pubExecutive Secretary Ralph Recto Inquirer.net file photo u PAGE 3
MANILA — The Philippines has recorded 5.6 million in foreign visitor arrivals as of Dec. 20, nearly equal to the inbound figures it logged in 2024. The number remains short of the 2019 recorded levels prior to the pandemic, but the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Tuesday expressed optimism for 2026 as the country anticipates an increase in the Chinese market with the recently resumed e-Visa for China. Data showed that China ranked sixth in tourist arrivals with 262,144, behind South Korea, the
United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada – a performance, the DOT said, was “largely influenced by visa disruptions, security perceptions, and limited air connectivity.” Tourism Attaché to China Ireneo Reyes said the reintroduction of the Philippine e-Visa in November marks a critical step toward restoring confidence and easing travel for Chinese tourists, with stronger gains expected in early 2026. “The e-Visa resumption is a critical step forward and a clear signal that the Philippines is open, ready, and eager to welcome our u PAGE 3
Police cite toxicology findings as the Ombudsman takes custody of DPWH records and lawmakers move to open a House inquiry by AJPress Police, anti-graft investigators, and lawmakers have opened parallel reviews in the case of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina “Cathy” Cabral, following disclosures on toxicology findings, the turnover
of her official records, and a congressional move to examine the circumstances of her death alongside broader infrastructure oversight issues. Police confirm antidepressant detected in toxicology screening The Philippine National Police said toxicology tests deu PAGE 5