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Comelec to issue show cause order vs. Chiz’s donor
Probe team won’t halt House, Senate hearings–Bersamin
By Vito Barcelo THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said it will issue a show cause order against Centerways Construction President Lawrence Lubiano to explain w h y
By Charles Dantes and Maricel Cruz VOL. XXXIX • NO. 207 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2025 •
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Gov’t ‘very, very stable’ Heading heading despite flood infra mess heading heading head Palace sees no threats but police on alert for Black Friday protests
THE independent commission that will likely be unveiled by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. today won’t bar the House and the Senate hearings on anomalous flood-control projects, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said. “That’s (ongoing congressional inquiries) not a problem because our independent commission, if it ever comes out, may just be about factfinding only,” Bersamin said in an interview during the sidelines of a budget hearing in the Senate. Asked if Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong has been invited to join the independent commission, Bersamin said: “I am not sure about that.” Online news sites reported that Magalong and former Public Works chief Rogelio Singson have accepted Next page
By Ram Superable and Charles Dantes
T
HE government remains “very, very stable” despite reports of massive anomalies in government flood-control projects that prompted various militant and civil society groups to launch a Black Friday protest tomorrow, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said. “That (flood-control probe) is internal dynamics (of Congress), which is normal for us,” Bersamin said in an interview during the sidelines of a budget hearing in the Senate yesterday. “There were eras or periods in our history that were more supposedly perceived to be destabilizing,” he added. Gen-Z led protests over rampant corruption by the political elite have recently toppled the prime minister in Nepal while Indonesians took to the streets, brandishing brooms as a symbol of their calls to sweep away corruption and repressive security forces. Next page
Dizon asks for lookout order vs. Bonoan, others DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against former Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Candaba, Pampanga Mayor Rene Maglanque, NEWS / A2 and officials of MBB Global Properties Corp. Dizon said the ILBO is intended to prevent delays in the ongoing investigation into alleged anomalies in flood control projects. Next page
Discayas may not be accepted as witnesses
A FIRST FOR SSS PENSIONERS. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. applauds after announcing the start of the increase in pensions for more than 3.8 million pensioners of the Social Security System. For the first time in its history, the agency will implement a three-year increase in the pension of its beneficiaries starting this September. PCO
PBBM launches first of three-year hike in social security pensions Speaking at the ceremonial launch of the 2025 SSS Pension PRESIDENT Reform ProFerdinand "Bonggram, Presibong" Marcos Jr. dent Marcos on Wednesday announced said the governNEWS / A3 that starting ment’s first penSeptember 1, sion increase unretirement and der the Social Security System (SSS) disability pensioners will Pension Reform Program underscores receive a 10% hike in its commitment to provide dignity and Next page financial relief to Filipino retirees.
By Charles Dantes
Zero-billing program sustainable — Marcos
PROTESTING CORRUPTION. Activists protesting corruption picket outside the gates of the Senate
yesterday in Pasay City.
Sotto, Marcoleta clash over Brice Hernandez’s contempt detention By Ram Superable SENATE President Vicente Sotto III yesterday directed the chamber’s sergeant-at-arms to transfer dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan assistant district engineer Brice Ericson Diaz Hernandez to the Pasay City Jail. Sotto clarified however, that Hernandez will remain under the Senate’s custody, and instructed the sergeant-
at-arms to strictly regulate visits for the detainee. The Senate President also ordered police Maj. Gen. Ma. O.R. Aplasca to keep a detailed log of all Hernandez’s visitors. Hernandez was detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) custodial center in Camp Crame, Quezon City after he implicated several lawmakers and DPWH officials in Next page
Marcos urges US to sustain presence in Indo-Pacific By Charles Dantes PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Wednesday called on the United States to sustain its presence and leadership in the Indo-Pacific, warning that regional peace and stability are under threat amid persistent tensions in the South China Sea. Next page
AIMING FOR THREE PEAT. Binibining Pilipinas Globe 2025
Annabelle Mae Mc. Donnell bids farewell during the send-off ceremony for her yesterday by the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) at the Gateway Mall 2 in Quezon City. She heads off to the Miss Globe beauty pageant in Tirana, Albania, on October 15, 2025. She is setting her sights on clinching the Philippines' third Miss Globe crown after the country's Anne Colis, who won Miss Globe 2015, and Maureen Montagne, who won Miss Globe 2021. Danny Pata