(Story on A4) Plunder rap vs. VP can be impeachment ground
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IN MET R MANILAO
By Charles Dantes THE plunder rap filed against Vice President Sara Duterte and 15 others VOL. XXXIX • NO. 302 • 4 SECTIONS 16 PAGES DECEMBER 14, 2025
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before the Ombudsman over the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds could be a ground for a fresh impeachment complaint come February 2026, Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima on Saturday said. De Lima said the complaint filed by civil society leaders presented stronger evidence against the Vice President. “The allegations are more focused now and presented more pieces of evidence. Basically, the allegations are the same (as the previous impeachment complaints) but this time specific violations were fleshed out more,” De Lima said in a news forum.
3 Pinoy fishermen hurt in China attack in WPS
“These are still overall grounds for an impeachment… This can be either (an impeachment case) or the Ombudsman can opt to file this directly with the Sandiganbayan as plunder and graft cases,” she added. For his part, Student Council Alliance of the Philippines secretary general Matthew Silverio, one of the complainants in the plunder case, said the evidence they presented was “very strong.” “It can be both – a fresh impeachment or a case before the Sandiganbayan,” Silverio said in a radio interview. Turn on A4
RECTO FLAGS RISKS TO NAT’L SECURITY NEWS/ A2
INTERPOL ALERTED ON CO’S PASSPORT NEWS/ A2
Incident came 2 days after PBBM met new Chinese ambassador By Rex Espiritu
T
HREE Filipino fishermen were injured when China Coast Guard vessels sprayed their boats with water cannons and cut their anchor lines near Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard said Saturday. The fishermen were “targeted with water cannons and dangerous blocking maneuvers,” PCG spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said, adding that small Chinese rigid hull inflatable vessels had also “deliberately cut the anchor lines of several (boats).” “Three fishermen sustained physical injuries, including bruises and open wounds. Two (Filipino fishing boats) also suffered significant damage from high-pressure water cannon blasts,” he added. The attack came two days after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accepted the credentials of Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan. Mr. Marcos, during the ceremonies at Malacañan
Thursday, expressed hopes that the Philippines’ bilateral relations with China will further improve through the efforts of Beijing’s newly-designated ambassador. Beijing, for its part, said it had taken “necessary control measures” involving about 20 Philippine fishing boats near Sabina Shoal, a fish-rich area about 150 kilometers from the island of Palawan. In a statement released Saturday, the China Coast Guard said it had taken “necessary control measures against the Philippine vessels … including issuing warnings via loudspeaker and conducting external maneuvering to drive them away.” Turn on A4
DANGEROUS MOVES.
This frame grab from the handout video of the Philippine Coast Guard taken and received on December 13, 2025 shows China Coast Guard deploying water cannon towards a Philippine fishing boat near Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. PCG personnel attended to injured fishermen after the incident. PCG handout photo / AFP
Swimming, judo add to PH’s gold haul in SEAG DepEd budget hiked by P86.8b By Riera U. Mallari
the gold trail, while Filipino athletes added silver and bronze medals in figure-skating and set the stage for crucial battles across several fronts in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games on Saturday.
BANGKOK—Olympic medalist Kayla Noelle Sanchez and regional champ Chino Sy Tancontian kept Team Philippines on
Sanchez, a silver medalist for Canada in the Tokyo Olympics before switching allegiance to the Philippines afterwards, ruled the Women’s 100m Backstroke final event, clocking an impressive 54.82 seconds for the gold, the Philippines’ 13th overall as off press time. Turn on A4
As of 8 p.m., Dec. 13, 2025
in 1st-ever livestreamed bicam
By Maricel Cruz and Joel Zurbano LAWMAKERS have moved to increase the budget of the Department of Education by P86.8 billion during yesterday’s bicameral conference deliberations – the first to be livestreamed in budget history. “Congress has removed the veil from the budget process. Congress has done everything to ensure that the budget is transparent, clean, and equipped with sufficient safeguards to make sure it cannot be abused,” House Committee on Appropriations chairperson Mikaela Angela Suansing said. “This year finds us in extraordinary
Surigao del Sur Rep. Romeo Momo Sr.
Thailand
92
54
31
177
Vietnam
28
25
53
106
Indonesia
27
40
35
102
Singapore
15
18
25
58
Philippines
13
22
47
82
Malaysia
15
14
44
73
118 Pinoys evacuated in Thailand amid clashes
Myanmar
2
12
15
29
By Charles Dantes
Laos
2
2
13
17
Brunie Darussalam
0 1
4
5
0 0
2
2
Timor Leste
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MEDAL HAUL. Kayla Sanchez won her third gold in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand Saturday, dominating the women’s 100-meter backstroke event. Filipino figure skaters also added two medals to the country’s tally, with Maxine Bautista bagging silver and Paolo Borromeo getting bronze. POC Media Pool
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AT LEAST 118 Filipinos, mostly teachers, have been evacuated to safety amid armed clashes near the Cambodia-Thailand border, Philippine Ambassador to Thailand Millicent Cruz-Paredes said. As the Philippines issued a fresh advisory urging OFWs in affected areas
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to remain vigilant, Cruz-Paredes said all those evacuated are safe and accounted for, and no Filipino has been reported injured or in trouble. Most of the Filipinos affected were teachers working in areas where fighting erupted, prompting the suspension of classes, the ambassador said. Turn on A4
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