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FIVE LOCAL PBBM PLAN TO MONITOR 2026 BUDGET PROCESS DRAWS MIXED REACTIONS HOLIDAYS IN OCT.
By Ram Superable, Maricel Cruz, Joel Zurbano and NEWS / A3Darwin Amojelar
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s reported plan to personally monitor the 2026 national
ISRAEL CONTINUES TO POUND HEZBOLLAH
TRUMP: GOLDEN WORLD / A6 DOME MISSILE SHIELD BEING STUDIED FOR U.S.
budget process and attend the bicameral conference drew mixed reaction from lawmakers yesterday. Senator Risa Hontiveros warned it would violate the Constitution even as senator-elect Pan-
filo Lacson said it sends a strong signal to Congress to respect the budget process. "He cannot. He should not. The Constitution does not allow it," Hontiveros said. "The power of the purse is wielded by Congress and Congress
alone, not by the executive, not by any member of the executive, not even by the chief executive.” Lacson, however, said the President’s plan sends a strong and clear message to Congress about Next page
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 227• 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 •MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 •
PNP resurrecting probe into PCSO official's slay Palace: Reconciliation no WORLD / A6
VOL. XXXIX • NO. 96 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 •WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2025 •
shield for accountability
Speaker grateful for PMA Class '83 vote of confidence in Quad Comm
By Rio N. Araja
T P
HE Philippine National Police (PNP) is reopening its Charles investigation into By Dantes the 2020 murder of RESIDENT Philippine Charity Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for Office national reconciliation should Sweepstakes notboard be construed (PCSO) secretaryas a move to shield anyone accountability as he will not Wesley from Barayuga. allow himself to be blackmailed into bending On Sunday, PNP Chief Police the lawRommel to benefi t a fewMarpeople, a Palace General Francisco bil said he ordered the reopening official said yesterday. of
PBBM won't bend law for anyone; unity call sets no conditions
the cold case after whistleblower Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza told the House Quad Committee that he helped carry out the killing at the behest of ex-PCSO general manager Royina Garma. Mendoza narrated before congressmen how Garma allegedly facilitated the PCSO official’s roadside assassination on July 30, 2020 by providing the necessary information about his schedule, details about his vehicle and the funding necessary to carry it out. The whistleblower also implicated incumbent National Police Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo in the planning of the murder. Barayuga was a retired police general and lawyer who supposedly threatened to expose corruption within the PCSO shortly before he was shot dead in Mandaluyong City. Garma, herself an ex-police Lt. Colonel, allegedly gained the top spot at the PCSO because of her inNext page
DOTr’s Bautista says online news report‘unfounded' WATERWORLD.
Several areas across Maguindanao del Sur are heavily inundated following nonstop rains caused by the intertropical convergence zone in Mindanao. Civil Defense-BARMM
—“—
The President chooses the rule of law over personal ties. (A choice between a) friend or the law? The President will still choose the law. —PCO Usec. Claire Castro
“The President will not allow himself to be dictated upon by other people to do something wrong (in the spirit of reconciliation). The President will not turn his back on the law and he will not bend the law just to serve the interest of a few people,” Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a press briefing Wednesday. Castro said Mr. Marcos’ message of unity, aired in his recent podcast, extends to all Filipinos regardless of political affiliation or past Next page
BAUTISTA
FLASH floods submerged 98 villages across Maguindanao del Sur on Tuesday night, displacing 38,689 families By Darwin Amojelar or around 192,000 people, according to the region's top official.Secretary Jaime TRANSPORTATION Flooding wasanreported in several Bautista denied online news report barangays across the municipalities of claiming that Malacañang was angry Datu Abdullah Sangki, Shariff Aguak, with the increase in airport fees without Datu Saudi ofAmpatuan, the approval the Cabinet Ampatuan, members. Shariff Mustapha, Hof“TheSaydona Bilyonaryo articleDatu is malifer Ampatuan, Mamasapano, Datu Picious and unfounded,” Bautista said ang, Sultan sa Barongis, Datu Salibo, in a Viber message, referring to the and Guindulungan. website that published the said story. The floodsiscaused significant dam“Bilyonaryo inconsistent,” he added. age,Bilyonaryo with three homes reportedly dereported online that stroyed and two road sections, along “Bautista and his long-time protege in with a bridge, affected. Philippine Airlines, Undersecretary for Since May 14, Mindanao been Aviation and Airports Bobbyhas Lim, are experiencing overcast skies with at the center of the storm after itscatwas tered rain showers and thunderstorms due to the intertropical convergence Next page
PAGASA
Gov’t readies SPORTS / A8 P1.48b aid as 'Julian' strengthens
Tracking major infra projects now made easy
THE government has readied P1.48 billion worth of aid for communities that may be hit hard by typhoon ‘Julian’ which PAGASA says could turn into a supertyphoon. As of 5:00 PM on Sunday, PAGASA raised Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal G. No.Amojelar 3 over Batanes By Darwin and the northeastern portion of Babuyan Islands. of Budget and ManTHE Department “’Julian’ is forecast to continue agement has rolled out a digital moniintensifying over the platform next 24-36 toring and evaluation for hours as projects it movesastowards Batanes big-ticket part of the govand/or Babuyan Islands. With the ernment’s commitment to transparency current trend in in itsgovernance. intensification, and accountability theBudget possibility of Amenah reachingPangansuper Secretary typhoontogether category notUniversity ruled out,” daman, withisthe of PAGASA said and in its the Philippines theadvisory. Department of Meanwhile, theHighways, National signed DisasPublic Works and Risk Reduction and Manageatermemorandum of understanding to ment Council (NDRRMC) said that collaborate on the implementation of a total of 1.9 million for family food the Digital Information Monitorpacks P1.48 billion, other ing and worth Evaluation (DIME) Project or food items worth P276 million, and Project DIME. non-food items (NFIs) worth P919 "With the advent of technology, the million for were already by demand progress fromprepared our citizens the Department of Social Welfare increases. In just one click, they can and Development rightly demand for (DSWD). greater openness, Some P171 in standby transparency, and million accountability, espefund isforalso available utilization cially projects and for initiatives that by the DSWD, including P123lives. milhave signifi cant impact in their lion ifwhich can be allotted Quick And our people demand for as progress, Response Fund (QRF) in the cenNext page tral office of the DSWD. In Batanes, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) advised residents to secure their roofs and install window shutters as Typhoon Julian is expected to make landfall
Another OWWA exec fired over P1.4b land deal
Next page
A WEB OF CRIME? House leaders Aurelio Gonzales and David Suarez presented this matrix during the last QUAD Comm hearing which shows the operations of a criminal syndicate allegedly led by fugitive Michael Yang, then economic adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, that controlled the illegal activities of the POGOs and was involved in the drug trade and extrajudicial killings.
Yang's lawyer mocks probers amid heated inquiry THE legal counsel of Chinese businessman Tony Yang sought to disparage lawmakers’ conclusions about his client’s supposedly sketchy past and his alleged ties with Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators (POGOs) and even organized crime. Lawyer Raymond Fortun questioned the House Quad Committee’s impartiality and its ability to pin Chinese national Yang down for ay wrongdoing in a real criminal court. “I am very interested in how they [Quad Comm members] can prove this criminal network in court. In Congress, lawmakers act as both prosecutor and judge,” he said. Yang, who already admitted having a fake Philippine birth certificate, is the brother of Michael Yang, a presidential economic
adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Fortun, a lawyer who often finds himself at the center high-profile cases, apparently sought to mock congressmen, calling their probe “unacceptable.” However, House members argued they did not come by their suspicions about Yang recklessly. On Friday, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga and Deputy Speaker David Suarez of Quezon presented a matrix showing Yang’s first appearance and his subsequent activities at the Quad Comm hearing. “We saw a pattern, and we tracked it to the top of these corporations... we stripped it of its layers , to get to the top and through it all, we have discovered and identified at least two main actors or players in the issue
Floods displace 192k people Persecution claim across Maguindanao del Surdebunks China Navy spokes claim of Roque won’t By Rex Espiritu
EALA TO DEBUT AT PARIS OPEN IN HER BEST FORM, RANKING
of illegal drugs and illegal activities associated with POGOs,” Suarez said in a mixture of Filipino and English. The solons explained how the matrix details Yang’s connections to other individuals involved in illicit activities, including the operations of illegal POGOs. Among the companies implicated are Brickhartz Technology Inc. and Xionwei Technology Co. Ltd., which are being linked to alleged kidnapping. The two firms supposedly have connections with the Baofu Compound in Bamban, Tarlac, which, in turn, can be directly traced to disgraced ex-mayor Alice Guo. During Friday’s Quad Comm hearing, lawmakers cited Tony Yang in contempt for “lying” to about his businesses and business partners. Next page
PH lobbies UN MALACAÑANG announced yesfor Security terday that former Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Council seat(OWWA) Deputy Director Emma Sinclair was By Charles Dantes
also sacked for her role in an unauthorTHE Philippineland government on ized P1.4-billion deal. Sunday publicly called for the UnitIn a press briefing, Presidential ed Nations (UN) toOffice give it(PCO) a seat on Communications Unthe UN Security Council, highlightdersecretary Claire Castro said Sining thelike country’s record and clair, formerstrong OWWA admindedication to upholding the rule of istrator Arnell Ignacio, was fired law. after President Marcos lost trust Foreign Affairs andDepartment confidence of in her. (DFA) Secretary Enrique ManaloThey in “Both of them were fired. awere speech delivered at the UN Gennot asked to resign. This is eral New York just Assembly a warning.inWe can saysaid thatthe this Philippines continues to emphasize is the President’s call to all those the “importance of upholding working under him to do your the job, rule of law and the integrity the to stop irregularities or doingofirregmultilateral in the face of toularities in system your work,” Castro told day’s global challenges.” Palace reporters. Quoted reports, "This is aby clear signalManalo from thealso Pressaid: “The Philippines consisident to all government has officials: pertently pursued peace, sovereign form your duties or bethe removed. The equality states, rightstoand Presidentofwill not the hesitate fire digthose nity of all persons.” page He added that the countryNext is also recognized as the “first Asian ReNext page
of military exercises instand—Panelo Scarborough shoal zone (ITCZ), which triggered flash floods across various towns in Maguindanao del Sur, disaster officials said. waded through waistByRescue Rexteams Espiritu deep waters to evacuate 100 stranded residents in Datu Anggal THE Philippine Navy Midtimbang debunked townSunday after thethe Brarrecent River overfl owed, on announceaccording Bangsamoro Minisment by to China that it Chief conducted ter Abdulraof Macacua. off Bajo de military exercises “Some also areas only Masinloc, knownshow as Scarborhouse Shoal, roofs,” inMacacua said in a ough the West Philipstatement, though he confirmed that pine Sea (WPS). no China casualties were reported in anthe reportedly made the Bangsamoro coinciding Autonomouswith Region nouncement the in Muslim Mindanao.Maritime Cofourth Multilateral Separately, in Koronadal operative Activity between City, the floods claimed the lives of two indiPhilippines, Australia, Japan, viduals—24-year-old Jessa New Zealand, and teacher the United Mae Huesca andManila’s 28-year-old delivery States within exclusive rider Christian economic zonePederiso—who (EEZ) in thewere reswept away while attempting to cross gional waters over the weekend. thePhilippine Cacub River. Navy Spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy VinNext page
cent Trinidad told reporters that FORMER presidential spokesperson ManilaRoque’s troopsclaim didthat nothe monitor Harry is a vicany of such activity, adding that tim political persecution doesBeinot jing’swater, statement wasto meant only hold according former chief for its internal presidential legalaudience. counsel Salvador “Ourwho troops Panelo, noteddid that not evenobserve harsher any exercise, we have to undercritics of the Marcos administration stand that sometimes, are not facing any charges. China is doing thisbasis for for their internal audi“If his saying that he is ence, right? For them not to he look politically persecuted is because weak andofembarrassed,” Trinidad is a critic the administration, then said.claim does not stand,” Panelo that Chinese warships were saidTwo in a statement. monitored a distance ranging “There areatother, harsher critics of from eight to 14who nautical miles. the administration are neither beOnepersecuted of thesenorwent up to 1,000 ing prosecuted.” yards at the MMCA butDuterte evenRoque, a known allysite of the tually iswent away. “It asylum was not family, currently seeking in threatening, just normal,” accordThe Netherlands. Nextpage page Next
COURTESY CALL. President Ferdinand Marcos AWARD. Hans Sy, Chairman of the Executive Committee of SM Prime Holdings, Jr.Retailers welcomes the production team ‘The Last was honored by the Philippine Association (PRA) with itsofOutstanding Resort’ during a courtesy call atinMalacañang on Filipino Retailers President Award for his visionary leadership retail development. Wednesday, May romantic comedy, (From left to right): PRA Director and Director of 21, SM 2025. Retail The Jorge T. Mendiola, PRA set in theofPhilippines, stars Wars actors Daisy Vice President and President and COO Golden, ABC, Inc.Star (The Penshoppe Group) Ridley (second from right) and Alden Ehrenreich Alice T. Liu, SM Prime Holdings Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans(right). T. Sy, Directed DonaldInternational, Petrie (second left), the film is PRA President and Chairman ofby Quorum Inc.from (Toby’s Sports) Roberto backedand by business MannyInt’l. Pangilinan (left)and as S. Claudio, and PRA Director Presidentmagnate of Sportshouse Leisure, Inc. producer. PPAC. Pool proponent of PRA OFRexecutive President’s Award Mars Chua