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‘Team Amoy Asim’: More dubious VP confi fund recipients found By Rio N. Araja
VOL. XXXIX • NO. 41 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2025
Transport strike on, classes suspended
THE existence of a “Budol Gang” [gang of con artists] that allegedly benefitted from P612.5 million in Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds is growing with the discovery of the so-called “Team Amoy Asim,” La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V said yesterday. As part of an ongoing continuing inquiry into the list of recipients of confidential funds from the Department of Education, the lawmaker bared a new set of highly dubious names.
The newly surfaced names included Amoy Liu, Fernan Amuy and Joug de Asim, he said. Apart from the “now-notorious” Mary Grace Piattos, other Budol Gang members were also revealed, including Renan Piatos, Pia PiattosLim, Xiaomi Ocho, Jay Kamote, Miggy Mango, and five individuals all named Dodong as alleged beneficiaries of the Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds, he said. Liu, Amuy and De Asim likewise have no birth, marriage, or death Next page
NLEX LIFTS TOLL ON B’TWAK-MARILAO STRETCH UNTIL ALL LANES REOPEN
Dizon to talk to protesters
NEWS / A4
By Rio N. Araja and Rex Espiritu
A
T LEAST 19 colleges and universities in Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, and Bulacan have suspended face-to-face classes today in anticipation of the three-day nationwide transport strike. The government however has assured it has put in place contingency measures aimed at filling the gap in public transportation ahead of the protest staged by transport group Malayang Alyansa ng Bus Employees at Laborers (Manibela) from today until Wednesday.
Pro-PTMP groups to counter rally NEWS / A2 The following universities and colleges have declared no classes: - Adamson University - Cavite State University main campus (March 24 to 26, 2025) - Centro Escolar Integrated School Manila
JOBS AND SERVICES FAIR. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. brings the Trabaho at Serbisyong Pangkalusugan sa Bagong Pilipinas program to Laguna.
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Solons zero in on pro-Duterte vloggers as FL targeted anew By Vince Lopez and Rio N. Araja MALACAÑANG berated “fake news peddlers” yesterday for casting doubt on the authenticity of a photo of First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos while at-
tending a meeting of the Asian Cultural Council, and even challenging the Palace to prove that it was not edited. Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said those criticizing the photo evident-
ly do not know what the meeting was all about. She was referring to a photo posted on the official Facebook page of the First Lady on Saturday, March 22, with the caption: “Regular meeting of the Asian
Cultural Council; Pangarap Clubhouse, Malacañang Park, Manila on 21 March 2025.” In the photo, the First Lady was seen wearing a blue dress in a dining area Next page
Sen. Imee not sure whether still part of Alyansa slate RE-ELECTIONIST Senator Imee Marcos said he is uncertain about her continued inclusion in the administration’s senatorial slate. This after her exclusion from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s endorsement speech at a Laguna campaign rally Saturday, March 23, where he advocated for only 11 candidates instead of the full 12. While both Senator Marcos and Las Piñas Lone District Representative Camille Villar were absent from Saturday’s event, Villar was explicitly endorsed by the president. This omission marked the second consecutive rally where Senator Marcos was left Next page
MOVING TARGET. First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos has been a moving target for anti-government online trolls. This
time, detractors are saying her photo last Friday with members of the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) during their regular meeting was edited. Liza Marcos (Facebook)
RECOVERING. Pope Francis appears at a window of Rome’s Gemelli hospital before being discharged after five weeks of hospitalization for pneumonia. Pope Francis is to leave hospital and return to his residence in the Vatican, where he is to spend “at least two months” recovering, one of his doctors announced during a press conference yesterday. AFP
Online petition vs. Roque bid gains ground AN ONLI NE petition urging the Netherlands’ Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) to reject the asylum bid of lawyer Harry Roque has gained several thousand signatures. Joel Vega, a Dutch citizen born in the Philippines, posted the petition after filing a formal letter urging the agency to deny the request of the spokesperson of former President Rodrigo Duterte. His online petition titled “Block Harry Roque’s Asylum Move to The Netherlands,” has received over 2,500 signatures from Filipinos worldwide. In a public post, Vega argued that Roque had no grounds to claim political persecution. “Roque is deeply embedded within the Duterte political circle, which remains highly influential in Philippine politics,” wrote Vega. “There is no credible threat to his life or freedom—only an attempt to escape scrutiny.” Next page
Pope Francis recovers, leaves hospital POPE Francis greeted and thanked the faithful from a balcony of Rome’s Gemelli hospital Sunday, the first time the 88-year-old has been seen in public since his admission on February 14. “Thank you, everyone,” a weak-sounding Francis said into a microphone, as he sat in a wheelchair waving gently to hundreds of people gathered below, and doing the occasional
thumbs-up sign. “I can see that woman with yellow flowers, well done,” he said with a small smile, to laughter from the crowd. The head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, who has spent over five weeks in hospital battling pneumonia, was on the balcony for two minutes then Next page