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400 schools on sit-down strike Public school teachers to hold classes on corruption, education woes By Rex Espiritu and Katrina Manubay
P
UBLIC school teachers from more than 400 schools across the country are set to stage a sit-down strike today as part of the Black Friday Protest Against Corruption in a lead up to the Nov. 30 Luneta rally.
VOL. XXXIX • NO. 286 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2025
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers said alternative classes will be held inside public school campuses where issues such as corruption, bureaucratic
inefficiencies, and the chronic neglect of the education sector. In a phone interview, ACT secre-
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Report: AMLC says Co got as much as P10.4b in kickbacks By Charles Dantes and Ram Superable FORMER Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co may have received up to P10.41 billion in kickbacks from various government projects from 2023 to 2025, Bilyonaryo News Channel in its exclusive report quoting the freeze order secured by the Anti-Money Laundering Council against the exlawmaker’s assets. BNC said in its report the AMLC finding was contrary to Co’s earlier claim that he did not receive a single peso in kickback from anomalous flood control projects. “I want to make it clear that I did not take part in the actual process of splitting the amounts. The money only passed through me,” Co said in one of the videos he released on social media. Next page
S&P AFFIRMS PH RATING AMID INFRA PROBE BUSINESS / B1
SEARCH FOR THE MISSING. Firemen are searching for the hundreds of missing people at several apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate which caught fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on November 27, 2025. AFP
65 die, 19 OFWs hurt in HK apartment complex blaze—DMW AT LEAST 65 were killed, 70 injured including 19 Filipinos, and 250 people listed as missing in the massive fire that swept through a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong, authorities said yesterday.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac urged families in the Philippines not to panic as the government works to verify the condition of other Filipinos possibly affected by the blaze that spread thru the eight-building es-
A GRATEFUL HUG.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. embraces a resident of the Baseco compound in Tondo, Manila where he announced an additional PhP15M fund for Baseco Hospital to expand medical services for residents. The President also assured that the government will not neglect the community especially since more than 20,000 Baseco residents are already registered with PhilHealth and will benefit from free consultation and diagnostic services under the YAKAP Program.
PBBM optimistic of economic rebound as inflation eases in 2026 By Charles Dantes PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is optimistic that the economy will “recover by 2026 and return to the gov-
ernment’s target range by 2027” after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) officials reported inflation declining to 1.7 percent. the Presidential CommunicaNext page
Ombudsman asks BI to issue hold orders for 77 suspects By Pot Chavez THE Office of the Ombudsman is requesting the assistance of the Bu-
reau of Immigration (BI) to ensure that 77 individuals under fact finding investigation will not leave the
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TAX EVASION.
BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza presents the complaint filed against two contractors allegedly involved in the two ghost flood control projects in Bulacan. Bureau of Internal Revenue
tate on Wednesday. Cacdac said authorities were still confirming how many Filipinos were inside the building complex at the time of the blaze, noting that some of the individuals listed with Hong Kong ad-
dresses in the area may not have been physically present. “We don’t want their families here in the Philippines to panic. After all, they might not have been in the buildNext page
11 killed when truck crashes into passenger van in Albay By Rio N. Araja ELEVEN people were killed when a truck crashed into a passenger van yesterday in Libod, Camalig, Albay. Authorities said the truck allegedly lost its brakes and collided with the van, causing both vehicles to plunge
off a cliff into a river. LTO–Region V director Edgar Allan Castillejos issued a show-cause order against Recson Zamora, the truck driver from Daet, Camarines Norte, and Miguel Cerdeno, the registered owner from Tiwi, Albay. Next page
BIR files tax evasion charges vs. two Bulacan contractors By Thony Rose Lesaca, Pot Chavez THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) yesterday filed tax evasion charges against two contractors allegedly involved in “ghost” flood control projects in Bulacan. The Bureau said the complaints filed at the Department of Justice were against IM Construction Corp. and SYMS Construction Trading for alleged violations of the National Internal Revenue Code. Bureau investigation revealed that IM Construction Corp. received payments for the construction of a pumping station and flood gate in Brgy. Sto. Rosario, Hagonoy, Bulacan. The company allegedly declared their project costs, deductions, and input taxes for the construction but physical verification confirmed that no such structure was built. “With zero actual accomplish-
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