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7 more accused in flood control scam arrested
ARRESTED.
Seven of the accused individuals in the Oriental Mindoro flood control project case line up for a mugshot after their arrest yesterday at the PNP CIDG headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City. PNP
PBBM to remaining fugitives: Surrender now or be hunted down By Charles Dantes and Rex Espiritu
S
EVEN more co-accused of former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co have been arrested over the questionable P289.5-million road dike project in Oriental Mindoro.
Along with Dennis Abagon, a member of the Bids and Awards Committee of Department of Public Works and Highways arrested over the weekend, also taken in custody were DPWH Mimaropa executives Gerald Pacanan (chief), Gene Ryan Altea (assistant regional director), Ruben Santos Jr.
(assistant regional director), Dominic Serrano (construction division head), Felisardo Casuno (project engineer), Juliet Calvo (maintenance division head), and Lerma Cayco (accountant). Of the eight suspects turned over to the Sandiganbayan for processing
VOL. XXXIX • NO. 283 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2025
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Co’s allegations hold no weight until he returns to PH—Marcos By Charles Dantes, Rex Espiritu and Maricel Cruz THE accusations made by former lawmaker Zaldy Co hold no weight unless he returns to the Philippines and faces the cases filed against him in connection with alleged anomalies in flood control projects, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said. “Look at the quality of his statements,” Mr. Marcos said in a press conference at the Palace. “We have talked extensively about fake news. Anyone can go online and make all kinds of claims and Next page
TRANSPARENCY PORTAL. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. urged the public to get involved and monitor public infrastructure, as he launched the DPWH Transparency Portal in a press conference yesterday. The portal, which can be accessed at transparency.dpwh.gov.ph, contains information on DPWH projects since 2016, including the implementing office, total cost, progress rate, and source of funding. It can be used for reporting, and also has an AI assistant for easy use by citizens. PCO
nand Marcos Jr. to step down, but an appeal to hold accountable those involved in alleged “ghost projects” and misuse of public funds. Bishop Julito Cortes of Dumaguete likewise rejected calls for extra-legal action, in-
By Maricel V. Cruz
sisted that any response to corruption must respect democratic institutions, and stressed the need for impartial investigations and fidelity to the Constitution.
THE Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has not made a finding of guilt or liability against former speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez in its referral to the Office of the Ombudsman. According to the two-page referral received by the Ombudsman last Friday, the ICI said the transmittal was “made without prejudice to the Commission to accept or receive additional evidence, if any, concerning former Speaker Romualdez.”
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‘Nov. 30 rally not for Marcos resignation, installing junta’ LEADERS of the Church-based Trillion Peso March Movement (TPMM) on Monday invited the faithful to join their upcoming second “Trillion Peso March” on Nov. 30, asserting that the rally is not a call for President Ferdi-
Referral on Romualdez not a finding of guilt—ICI
Marcos ‘very worried’ about Sen. Imee’s public behavior By Charles Dantes PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. yesterday raised concern about Sen. Imee Marcos, saying family members and close friends have been “very worried” about her recent public behavior. The President said that the Imee the public was seeing on television is not his “sister,” after the senator claimed
in a speech during the Iglesia ni Cristo rally last week that her brother is using illegal drugs. “It’s anathema to talk about family matters in public,” Mr. Marcos said emotionally in a press conference. “We do not like to show our dirty linen in public. So I’ll just say this much: For a while now, we’ve been very worried about my sister. When I say we, I’m talking about friends and Next page
DOLE disburses P3b grants for 445k beneficiaries in Q3 THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has reported that 445,543 beneficiaries benefited from the nationwide implementation of the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP) in the third
quarter of 2025, with over P 3.078 billion in grants released. DILEEP echoes President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s commitment to poverty alleviation and the empowerment of workers, as Next page
CLEANUP SQUAD. Women carrying brooms troop to the office of the Ombudsman a day before the “International Day to End Violence Against Women” to call for the immediate filing of cases against the officials implicated in the flood control corruption cases as they are considered perpetrators of violence against women. Manny Palmero
8 cops nabbed, 6 hunted for rape of Grade 9 student By Rex Espiritu EIGHT cops have been arrested, while six others are being hunted for their alleged involvement in the robbery and rape of a Grade 9 student in Bacoor, Cavite, according to the National Po-
lice Commission (Napolcom). The NAPOLCOM said yesterday it has initiated an immediate, full-scale investigation into the incident involving fourteen members of the Philippine National Police Drug NAPOLCOM Commissioner Ralph
Calinisan confirmed that a four-man investigative team has been deployed to Bacoor City to independently assess the circumstances and determine administrative liability. The commission is coordinating Next page