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New task force formed for San Juanico bridge repair By Rex Espiritu and Ronald O. Reyes
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to address structural concerns on the 2.16-kilometer San Juanico Bridge, the A MULTI-AGENCY task force has country’s third longest bridge spanning been formed to coordinate safety, traf- seawater and linking Leyte and Samar. fic, and emergency responses following The Office of Civil Defense (OCD)
announced Sunday the rollout of safety protocols, including a 24/7 security patrol, rerouting of heavy vehicles, and a centralized Public Assistance Desk at TINGOG Party-list’s Mega Tent. Next page
File photo of San Juanico bridge. Art de Vera
VOL. XXXIX • NO. 93 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • MONDAY, MAY 19, 2025
LGUs reactivate price councils Gov’t monitoring retailers for price spikes, hoarding
By Vince Lopez, Othel V. Campos and Rio N. Araja
T
HE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) announced that 1,350 local government units (LGUs) have reactivated their Local Price Coordinating Councils (LPCCs) to help monitor the supply and prices of rice and other key commodities, in support of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s goal of taming inflation. The activation of local price councils came even as House Speaker Martin Romualdez as as-
INAUGURAL MASS. A general view shows pilgrims
and faithful attending Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass yesterday for the beginning of his Pontificate, in St. Peter’s square in The Vatican. Inset (upper left) shows Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle putting the Fisherman’s Ring (bottom left), on a finger of the Pope during the mass. The ring has been part of the symbols of the papacy since at least the 13th century. It was used as a signet ring to seal official documents signed by the Pope until 1842. Now, it is used symbolically, but every Pope still has a ring. AFP/ Vatican News
sured funding for the government’s subsidized
RECOUNT NEEDS AMENDING LAW, BUDGET—COMELEC
TRUMP TO MEET PUTIN TO END ‘BLOODBATH’
NEWS / A2
WORLD / A6
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Pope Leo calls for stop to exploiting nature and the poor POPE Leo XIV set the tone for his papacy Sunday with a call to stop exploiting nature and marginalizing the poor, before an audience including JD Vance and tens of thousands of pilgrims. Ten days after Chicago-born Robert Fran-
cis Prevost became the first US head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, he celebrated his inaugural mass in St. Peter’s Square. The 69-year-old began the day by making his debut tour in a popemobile, standing up in the custom-made white vehicle and smil-
ing, waving and blessing the cheering crowds at the Vatican. In front of dignitaries including US Vice President Vance and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky, he then gave a homily calling
PBBM: Admin slate could have done better, but live to fight another day PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. admitted that he had much higher hopes for the outcome of the 2025 midterm elections, even as he said he would much rather focus on the political battles that lay ahead. “We all wish we had better results, but, you know, we live to fight another day,” said the chief executive at the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas’ Thanksgiving dinner in Mandaluyong City Saturday evening. Of the 12 newly elected senators, only six were anointed by the President under the administration’s Alyansa coalition.
They include Senators-elect Erwin Tulfo, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Pia Cayetano, Camille Villar, and Lito Lapid. The President’s sister, reelected Senator Imee Marcos, was initially part of the administration slate but was later dropped for questioning the administration on how it handled the arrest and subsequent surrender of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court. Staunch Duterte allies Bong Go, Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, and Rodante Next page
DOH eyeing rise in COVID cases in Singapore, HK ANGELS WALK. Over 40,000 advocates from across the Philippines gathered at the SM
Mall of Asia Arena for the Autism Society Philippines’ Angels Walk 2025, which coincided with SM Supermalls’ 40th Anniversary. In photo, from left to right are: Autism Society Philippines (ASP) Self-Advocate Raymarc Badillo, National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) Director Glenda Relova, ASP Chair Emerita Dang Koe, ASP President LJ Sumulong, SM Supermalls President Steven Tan, ASP Goodwill Ambassador Michelle Dee, SM Engineering Design and Development (SMEDD) President Hans T. Sy Jr., Book Nook Pioneer Shereen Sy and ASP Self-Advocate Marlon Reyes.
53 winning party-list groups finally being proclaimed today By Vito Barcelo and Pot Chavez
whose top nominees will occupy 63 seats in the House of Representatives. The poll body, sitting as the NationTHE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to proclaim at 3 p.m. today al Board of Canvassers (NBOC), will at least 53 winning party-list groups, name them at the Tent City, Manila Ho-
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tel. man George Garcia. The winning party-list groups will be The Comelec also released the full based on the canvassed results of 175 list of 155 participating party-lists and certificates of canvass nationwide and the number of votes each received. A tooverseas, according to Comelec ChairNext page
THE Department of Health (DOH) has reported that it is closely observing a rise in COVID-19 cases across certain parts of Southeast Asia. While the DOH did not pinpoint specific locations, recent reports have highlighted an increase in COVID-19 cases this year in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand. “The Department of Health is carefully tracking regional COVID-19 developments, including the recent surge in certain Southeast Asian areas. We continue to collaborate through established platforms such as ASEAN,” the agency said in a statement. Despite these developments, the DOH emphasized there is no reason for public alarm. In the Philippines, data shows a significant drop in COVID-19 activity, Next page