CELEBRATING BILATERAL TIES. President Ferdinand
Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos lead the lighting ceremony of the historic Jones Bridge on Saturday, June 7, 2025, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China. Joining the First Couple are Presidential Adviser for Pasig River Rehabilitation Jerry Acuzar (left), Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian (2nd from right) and Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna (right). PPA Pool
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VOL. XXXIX • NO. 112 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES JUNE 8, 2025
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CALL TO START IMPEACHMENT TRIAL ASAP GAINS GROUND STUDENT COUNCILS, MORE LEGAL, ACADEMIC GROUPS JOIN CALL
By Rolando Ng III, Vito Barcelo and Maricel Cruz
FLOATING SHABU HAUL NOW CLOSE TO P5.5B
O
PPOSITION against more delays in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has snowballed, with several student councils joining more academic and religious groups in calling on the Senate to start the proceedings immediately.
By Vince Lopez
The student councils of the University of Sto. Tomas, San Beda and Polytechnic University of the Philippines as well as the Benilde School of Diplomacy and Governance, Ateneo School of Government, Ateneo Human Rights Center, Philippine Law School Faculty and Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA) Board of Trustees were among the latest to add their voices to calls for the impeachment trial to begin without delay. On Friday, faculty members of the San Beda Graduate School of Law – including retired Supreme Court Associate Justices Adolf Azcuna and Jose Vitug as well as graduate school dean Fr. Ranhilio Aquino – and over 100 members of the UP College of Law faculty also called on the Senate to “let the truth unfold.” “Now more than ever, it is crucial to rise in collective action, defend our democratic institutions, and ensure that no public official is above the law,” the University of Santo Tomas Central Student Council said. “A thorough and impartial investigation is essential to restore trust in government institutions and uphold the rule of law…We stand in solidarity with millions of Filipinos who demand accountability, good governance and leadership that truly serve the people.”
CATCH OF THE DAY. Fisherfolk turn over to authorities suspected shabu they found floating off the coasts of Bolinao and Agno towns in Pangasinan on Friday, June 6, 2025. Philippine Coast Guard-Pangasinan
AT LEAST P3.99 billion worth of suspected shabu have been recovered off the coastal barangays in Pangasinan from Thursday to Friday, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said. On Thursday, fishermen found about P1.17 billion worth of illegal drugs placed in sacks off the coasts of Bolinao, Agno and Bani towns. On Friday, a total of 452 more vacuum-sealed packs, each with one kilo of suspected shabu, were recovered by fishers in Barangay Balingasay in Bolinao and Barangay Boboy in Agno. On May 29, 2025, at least P1.5 billion worth of floating shabu found by 10 Bataan fishermen off the waters of Masinloc, Zambales were also surrendered to authorities. “As of this update, a total of 28 sacks of suspected shabu have been Turn on A4
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YULO REIGNS SUPREME IN ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS FLOOR EXERCISE By Peter Atencio CARLOS Yulo won the gold medal in floor exercise – the fourth in as many years -- at the 2025 Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Senior Asian Championships in Jecheon, South Korea Saturday afternoon. The 25-year old two-time Olympic gold medalist had a final score of 14.6 points, off a 5.700 in difficulty, 8,800 in execution, and a 0.100 bonus for his clean. It was a close fight for the podium, with Kazakh gymnast Karimi Milad landing second with 14.4 points. This will be the second time for Milad to get a silver medal behind Yulo since last year in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where the Filipino took the top honors in the 2024 Asian Championships Moon Geonyung of Korea settled for third with his tally of 14.033. This is Yulo’s fourth year to bag the gold in floor exercise, which he also won in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
It was also his second medal in this year’s edition of the Asian Championships, after securing a bronze in the individual all-around Thursday.
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Carlos Yulo
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37,000 COPS TO SECURE JUNE 16 SCHOOL OPENING By Charles Dantes THE Philippine National Police will deploy around 37,000 cops nationwide to ensure public safety as classes resume for School Year 2025–2026 on June 16. PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said on Saturday preparations are in full swing ahead of the class opening. “We are ready,” Fajardo said in a radio interview with dzBB. “Around
37,000 police officers will be deployed, including 5,000 assigned to man police assistance desks in schools,” she added. She said both mobile and foot patrols will also be active near school zones to maintain order during the opening week of classes. The academic year, which now spans 197 class days, will conclude on March 31, 2026. This schedule reverts the school calendar to its traditional June-to-March cycle, before changes
introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier directed the Department of Trade and Industry to make sure prices of school supplies remained reasonable and affordable. The DTI, upon the President’s directive, released a comprehensive guide to enable the consumers to know the price of school items they need for the upcoming academic year, Presidential Turn on A4
NUP EXPELS FRASCO OVER ‘ONE-MAN DECISION’ By Maricel V. Cruz THE National Unity Party has expelled Deputy Speaker and Cebu Rep. Vincent Franco Frasco for going against the political party’s official position to support Speaker Martin Romualdez’s concon tinuity of leadership in the 20th Congress. NUP president and Camarines
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Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte confirmed this Saturday following Frasco’s open admission that he did not sign the manifesto of support by the supermajority coalition for Romualdez. “The party leadership has decided to expel Duke (Frasco) from the NUP because his unilateral decision not to support Rep. Martin’s continued stay as Speaker in the next Congress is a blatant breach of the NUP’s official
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position of unequivocal support for the Speaker to keep his premier post in the next Congress,” Villafuerte said. “Given that this has been the unanimous stance of our party, Duke’s oneman decision to withdraw support from the Speaker runs counter to the NUP’s official manifestation of support for Congressman Martin—and means his status as a member of our party has become untenable.” Turn on A4
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