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Palace eyes deforestation, quarrying in Cebu’s deadly floods By Charles Dantes and Maricel V. Cruz MALACAÑANG said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) would inves-
VOL. XXXIX • NO. 265 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2025
tigate the possible environmental causes behind the unprecedented flooding that hit several parts of the Visayas and Mindanao in the aftermath of Typhoon “Tino.” Next page
PH under state of calamity PBBM sets P760m in aid; DA readies price freeze on agri products
By Charles Dantes, Maricel Cruz, Vito Barcelo, Rex Espiritu and Katrina Manubay
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has placed the entire country under a state of national calamity following the severe devastation left by Typhoon “Tino,” which tore through several regions in the Visayas and Mimaropa, leaving extensive damage and multiple casualties. “The damage is heavy,” President Marcos said in a post-briefing statement after meeting with officials of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). “When the scope of damage reaches about 10 to 12 regions, it’s really a national calamity... This (declaration) allows us to immediately provide assistance without goNext page
‘Uwan’ to affect NCR, Visayas, PAGASA warns RACE AGAINST TIME. Army personnel
By Rio N. Araja, Katrina Manubay, Vince Lopez, and Rex Espiritu
carry the body of a missing person on a stretcher in the aftermath of ‘Tino’ during a retrieval operation in Liloan town. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (Inset, top photo) leads a briefing on the damage caused by the typhoon, where he declared a national state of calamity. Survivors of the typhoon scramble to salavage things from their flood-hit homes. Philippine Army, PPA Pool, Ivan Joseph Guiwanon / Greenpeace
THE state weather bureau yesterday warned that a potential super typhoon headed in the direction of Northern Luzon may also affect Metro Manila and even the Visayas. Chris Perez, Assistant Weather Services Chief at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), noted the sheer Next page
Spill at Bais Bay covers 6k hectares of coastal waters Whistleblowers to return as much as P1b in misused funds—DOJ By Katrina Manubay
A FIELD survey and drone-based mapping conducted by the Silliman University (SU) revealed that up to 6,000 hectares of marine and coastal waters have been contaminated due to a wastewater spill at Bais Bay off Negros Island. Initial findings of the surveys and
Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, carried out from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, indicated localized fish kills covering up to seven kilometers from the source of the spill. The contamination resulted from the collapse of the dam of Universal Robina Corp.’s (URC) wastewater containment structure, releasing molasses waste into the Tañon
Strait Protected Seascape (TSPS) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Meanwhile, URC has given assurance that the damaged dike in its containment lagoon at the Bais Distillery in Negros Oriental will withstand conditions that could threaten its structural stability once fully repaired. Next page
‘Accusations without proof mere noise’
chemical spill in Bais Bay shows the extent of the affected area (right, taken Oct. 25, 2025) compared to the Oct. 20 image (left). Sentinel-2L2A
More Pinoys getting hungry—SWS By Katrina Manubay THE number of hungry Filipino families has increased to 22 percent over the past three months, rising by 5.9 points from 16.1 percent in June 2025, according to a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey. This as Malacañang assured the people of the administration’s com-
mitment to addressing food insecurity, acknowledging that the recent series of calamities has contributed to the rise in hunger incidence. The latest SWS poll showed that the increase contradicted the previous downward trend, which saw hunger incidence dropping from 27.2 percent in March 2025 to 19.1 percent in midNext page
THE Department of Justice (DOJ) is finalizing a memorandum of agreement with whistleblowers in the anomalous flood control projects, paving the way for restitution of as much as P1 billion in stolen public funds and the filing of more criminal cases.
Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres said the whistleblowers have agreed to cooperate fully with investigators and return the estimated P1 billion in misused funds. “They now understand that there is a higher need for them to cooperate not only to benefit themselves but to correct the wrong system,” Andres said in an interview. The DOJ said the restitution clause in the MOA is “an integral part of justice,” requiring whistleblowers to return ill-gotten wealth, assets, and other properties. Several Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers, including Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, Next page
By Maricel Cruz
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A CHEMICAL SPILL MAKES. A satellite image of the
By Pot Chavez, Joel E. Zurbano, Darwin G. Amojelar, and Vito Barcelo
A LAWMAKER on Thursday called for fairness and due process amid the flood-control controversy being linked to former Speaker Martin Romualdez. House Committee on Higher and Technical Education chairman and Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre said accusations without proof are nothing more than “noise.” “Accusations are easy to make. But without evidence, they are just noise,” Acidre said in a media interview. He described the accusations against Romualdez as unfair and speculative. Acidre said no document or testimony has directly implicated Romualdez in any wrongdoing. “There is no evidence that directly imputes Martin Romualdez to all these controversies. I find it unfair that all of this is pure speculation. We cannot make judgments on the basis of speculations. You have to show evidence. Until such time that they are able to,
Next page
MESSAGE SENT.
Independent Commission for Infrastructure chairman Andres Reyes Jr. holds a placard bearing the message: ‘What the world needs now is love (not greed, not selfishness).’ Screengrab from One News