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(Story on A4) FIVE LOCAL OCTA SURVEY SHOWS UPTICK IN PBBM, SPEAKER RATINGS HOLIDAYS IN OCT.
By Rex Espiritu NEWS / A3 and Maricel V. Cruz
ISRAEL CONTINUES TO POUND HEZBOLLAH
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and House Speaker Martin Romualdez saw marked improvements in their trust and performance ratings, according to the latest Tugon ng WORLD / A6Masa (TNM) survey released by OCTA Research yesterday. At the same time, Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio and Senate President Francis Escudero logged notable declines.
Mr. Marcos emerged as the top-performing official in the second-quarter survey, with a 4-point increase in trust rating (64%) and a 3-point rise in performance rating (62%). While the latter remains within the margin of error, OCTA noted that the consistent trend signals VOL. XXXVIIIupward • NO. 227• 3 aSECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 •MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 • "genuine and positive shift" in public perception. The improvements marked a reversal of the downward trend observed since late 2024, highlighting what PAGASA OCTA describes as a renewed public VOL. XXXIX • NO. 165 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2025 •
PNP resurrecting probe DILG: Full-blast probe into PCSO official's slay on public funds misuse Next page
Speaker grateful for PMA Class '83 vote of confidence in Quad Comm
Remulla to convene NCR mayors over flood response HE Philippine
By Rio N. Araja
T I
National Police
By Rex(PNP) Espiritu, is reopening Pot Chavez its investigation into and Vito Barcelo
the 2020 murder of Philippine Charity NTERIOR Sweepstakes Secretary Office Jonvic (PCSO) board secretary Remulla vowed Wesley Barayuga. to go “full blast” in investigating alleged On Sunday, PNP Chief Police General Francisco misuseRommel of public funds Marbil said he ordered the reopening of meant the cold for caseinfrastructure after whistleblower Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza projects as he pushed fortold the House Quad Committee that he an integrated approach helped carry out the killing at the to waste management as behest of ex-PCSO general manager Royina Garma. a long-term measure to Mendoza narrated before conaddresshow flooding. gressmen Garma allegedly fa-
cilitated the PCSO official’s roadside Following on marching from assassination July 30,orders 2020 by President the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his providing necessary information fourthhisState of thedetails Nation Address, about schedule, about his Remulla said DILGnecessary will looktointo vehicle and thethe funding allegations carry it out. of corruption and misuse of The public funds in government projwhistleblower also implicated ects. incumbent National Police Com“I will give it to the investigation missioner Edilberto Leonardo in theside of the DILG. are going to go full planning of theWe murder. blast on that. We that we Barayuga waswill a make retiredsurepolice cover [everything],” he said in an intergeneral and lawyer who supposedly view with PTV. threatened to expose corruption withDuring his shortly SONA before on Monday, in the PCSO he wasMr. Marcos a full auditCity. of all flood shot deadordered in Mandaluyong Next page 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'
BAUTISTA
Gov’t readies Poor flood-control P1.48b aid as to budget 'partly Julian'due strengthens insertions—DPWH
THE government has readied P1.48 billion worth of aid for communities that may be hit hard by typhoon By Vito Barcelo, ‘Julian’ which PAGASA says could Ram Superable, turn into a supertyphoon. and V. Cruz As Maricel of 5:00 PM on Sunday, PAGASA raised Tropical Cyclone THE Department PublicBatanes Works Wind Signal No. of 3 over and Highways (DPWH) deflected and the northeastern portion of Bablame for failed flood-control projects, buyan Islands. pointing out that some lawmakers ear“’Julian’ is forecast to continue marked funding for projects without intensifying over the next 24-36 first seeking the agency’s hours as it moves towards technical Batanes guidance. and/or Babuyan Islands. With the Next page current trend in its intensification, the possibility of reaching super typhoon category is not ruled out,” PAGASA said in its advisory. Meanwhile, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that a total of 1.9 million family food packs worth P1.48 billion, other food items worth P276 million, and non-food items (NFIs) worth P919 million were already prepared by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Some P171 million in standby fund is also available for utilization by the DSWD, including P123 million which can be allotted as Quick Response Fund (QRF) in the central 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 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.
PH lobbies UN for Security Council seat
TSUNAMI ALERT. Responders from the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard and the local disaster risk reduction and management office monitor the Sarangani coastline following a tsunami alert for waves less than a meter high raised by Phivolcs. One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's sparsely populated Far East on Wednesday, causing tsunami alerts and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan. Video grab from a drone handout footage released by Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences (inset) shows the tsunami-hit Severo-Kurilsk on Paramushir island of Russia's THE Philippine government on northern Kuril Islands. Sarangani LGU Facebook page, AFP
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
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., By Pot Chavez which are being linked to alleged kidnapping. A HUMAN skull with teeth and adThe two firms supposedly ditional bones were recovered from have connections with the Baofu Taal Lake, raising the possibility of Compound in Bamban, Tarlac, DNA extraction from the remains, which, in turn, can be directly traced Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Reto disgraced ex-mayor Alice Guo. mulla on Wednesday said. During Friday’s Quad Comm "Some remains were found yesterhearing, lawmakers cited Tony Yang day. They are in the crime lab. There in contempt for “lying” to about his was a human skull and bones found... businesses and business partners. It looks like only one person was
Sunday publicly called for the United Nations (UN) to give it a seat on the UN Security Council, highlighting the country’s strong record and dedication to upholding the rule of law. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo in a speech delivered at the UN General Assembly in New York said the Philippines continues to emphasize found there, that of willupholding be examined," the “importance the Remulla said in a briefing. rule of law and the integrity of the “Yes, there wereinteeth in the multilateral system the face ofskull. toWe don’t know if it has a lower jaw,” day’s global challenges.” heQuoted added, by noting that Manalo the teethalso may reports, still contain usable DNA. said: “The Philippines has consisThepursued remains, whichthe include an uptently peace, sovereign per jaw and teeth, were discovered equality of states, the rights and digwithin a pre-identified nity of all persons.” quadrant of the lake and are nowthe under the custody He added that country is also of the Philippine National recognized as the “first Police Asian (PNP) Refor further forensic analysis. Next page
Human skull, teeth from Taal Lake raise hope for DNA—DOJ
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Navy spokes debunks China claim of military exercises in Scarborough shoal
cent Trinidad told CONTEMPT COMPLAINT. Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio (center) files a contempt case before the Supreme Courtreporters against that By Rex Espiritu Manila troops did not monitor Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Secretary Larry Gadon on Wednesday. Pot Chavez By Darwin Amojelar THE Philippine Navy debunked on Sunday the recent announcement by China that it conducted military exercises off Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). China reportedly made the announcement coinciding with the leged improper remarks directed at fourth Maritime Cothe HighMultilateral Court. operative the Lawyer Activity Ferdinand between Topacio filed Philippines, Australia, the petition against Gadon,Japan, while New and the Tolentino United lawyersZealand, Mark Kristopher States within Manila’s and Rolex Suplico lodged exclusive a separate economic zonepolitical (EEZ)analyst in theRichrepetition against gional waters and overAkbayan the weekend. ard Heydarian party-list Philippine Navy Spokesperson Rep. Percival Cendaña. for WPS Rear Admiral Roy NextVinpage
any such activity, adding that Beijing’s statement was meant only for its internal audience. “Our troops did not observe any exercise, we have to understand that sometimes, China is doing this for their internal audience, right? For them not to look weak and embarrassed,” By Maricel V. Cruz Trinidad said. Two House Chinese warships were THE of Representatives monitored at a distance ranging elected new leaders to several key from eight to 14 nautical miles. committees in a major move to One of these went upoversight, to 1,000 strengthen legislative yards the MMCAand sitecoordinabut evenfiscalatdiscipline, tually went away. “It was not tion of the chamber's proceedings threatening, just normal,” Nextaccordpage
Pres’l adviser, 2 others charged House elects new with indirect contempt before SC committee heads
TRANSPORTATION Secretary Jaime Bautista denied an online news report claiming that Malacañang was angry with the increase in airport fees without the approval of the Cabinet members. “The Bilyonaryo article is malicious and unfounded,” Bautista said in ViberChavez, message, referring to the Bya Pot website that published the said story. Vito Barcelo, “Bilyonaryo is inconsistent,” he added. and Ram Superable Bilyonaryo reported online that “Bautista and his long-time protege in PETITIONS for Undersecretary indirect contempt Philippine Airlines, for were filed before the Bobby Supreme Court Aviation and Airports Lim, are (SC) Wednesday against Presidenat theon center of the storm after it was tial Adviser for Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon and two othersNext overpage al-
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AWARD. Hans Sy, Chairman of the Executive Committee of SM Prime Holdings, was honored by the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) with its Outstanding Filipino Retailers President Award for his visionary leadership in retail development. (From left to right): PRA Director and Director of SM Retail Jorge T. Mendiola, PRA Vice President and President and COO of Golden, ABC, Inc. (The Penshoppe Group) Alice T. Liu, SM Prime Holdings Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans T. Sy, SPOT THE DIFFERENCE. A woman touches a humanoid robot during PRA President and Chairman of Quorum International, Inc. (Toby’s Sports) Roberto the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) at the Shanghai World Expo S. Claudio, and PRA Director and President of Sportshouse Int’l. Leisure, Inc. and and Convention Center in Shanghai. AFP proponent of PRA OFR President’s Award Mars C. Chua