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ICI eyes raps vs. Bonoan, two ex-officials on Bulacan project By Joel E. Zurbano

VOL. XXXIX • NO. 263 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2025

THE Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has recommended to the Office of the Ombudsman the probe on potential violations commit-

ted by former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways specifically Secretary Manuel Bonoan and Undersecretaries Roberto Bernardo and Maria Catalina Cabral in Next page

26 dead amid Tino’s onslaught PAF chopper assessing typhoon-hit areas crashes in Agusan • Super typhoon may enter PAR this weekend

By Rex Espiritu, Edwin Ombion, Ronald Reyes and Alena Mae Flores

T LEAST 26 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced as rains driven by Typhoon “Tino” (Kalmaegi) flooded swathes of Visayas and parts of Mindanao on Tuesday. Next page

DEVASTATION. Typhoon ‘Tino’ swept away homes, cars and other properties as it barrelled across eastern and central Visayas yesterday. Top photo shows houses torn by floodwaters at the mouth of the Maranga river along Cebu City’s South Road Properties. In the bottom left photo, rescuers clear debris from an uprooted tree that fell on a rescue vehicle at the outskirts of Bacolod City. The center photo shows rescuers carrying a victim of the flooding at a village in Cebu City. Cars are piled up after being swept away by floods. Cebu Province/Brigada News/Don del Rosario / AFP

Remulla mulls Marcos orders multi-agency relief efforts for typhoon victims raps vs. Villars, Chiz, Martin By Charles Dantes, Maricel V. Cruz, Katrina Manubay, and Alena Mae S. Flores

By Rio N. Araja and Pot Chavez THE Office of the Ombudsman aims to create a task force to investigate anomalous flood control projects that could have benefitted the family of former Senate President Manny Villar, including incumbent Senators Mark Villar and Camille Villar. At the same time, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said they have uncovered a money trail linking Senator Francis Escudero to corruption in the flood control projects.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ordered government agencies to work around the clock to pro-

vide relief to the more than 340,000 people affected by Typhoon “Tino” across several regions in the Visayas and southern Luzon “We continue to monitor the impact of Typhoon Tino, which has affected over 340,000 individuals in 1,397 barangays in MIMAROPA, Bicol,

Western and Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Caraga, and the Negros Island Region,” he said in a statement read by Palace Press Officer Claire Castro. More than 175,000 people are temporarily staying in evacuation centers across the affected regions, while Cabinet members are set to visit the hard-

NEWS / A2

House to pass bill to put more teeth to ICI

WHODUNIT? File photo in 2022 when the bust of Filipino historical figure Dr. Jose Rizal was unveiled in Paris, France. Department of Foreign Affairs

By Maricel V. Cruz

EX-US VP CHENEY DIES AT 84

est-hit provinces to assess the situation and ensure immediate restoration of essential services, the President added. Meanwhile, Office of Civil Defense spokesperson Junie Castillo assured that the government has sufficient stocks of family food packs and non-

and 26, 2025. In a message sent to reporters on Tuesday, November 4, the DFA said that the matter has been promptly reported to local authorities in Paris.

THE House of Representatives is poised to pass on third and final reading the measure creating a permanent independent commission tasked to investigate anomalous flood control and other infrastructure projects. Bulacan Rep. Salvador Pleyto Sr. said Speaker Faustino Dy Jr. has instructed legislators to support the bill’s enactment when Congress resumes session on November 10. “The Speaker wanted the House of Representatives to approve the measure on third and final reading on November 17,” said Pleyto, chair of the House Committee on Government Reorganization. He was referring to House Bills 4453, authored by Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, and 5699, filed by Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, both seeking to create an

DFA searching for missing Rizal statue in Paris By Katrina Manubay THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through the Philippine Embassy in Paris, is coordinating with French authorities to investigate the

disappearance of Dr. Jose Rizal’s bust located at Place Jose Rizal in Paris’ 9th arrondissement (administrative district). The sculpture was reportedly removed overnight between October 25