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SAP rejects links to ‘Cabral list’ Palace: Ombudsman verifying authenticity of files with Leviste By Charles Dantes
S
PECIAL Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr. on Thursday said his office has no hand in budget listings after Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste claimed there was an “OP (ES/SAP)” tag in the so-called “Cabral list” that covered 75 projects worth at least P8 billion in the 2025 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways. In a statement, Special Assistant to President (OSAP) is not an implementing the President Antonio Lagdameo said agency and does not have the technical the Office of the Special Assistant to the Next page
VOL. XXXIX • NO. 321 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2026
Fabella Hospital welcomes ‘New Year babies’ Yuri, Zamara By Pot Chavez and Ram Superable BABY boy Yuri and baby girl Zamara came bouncing into the world just as the clock struck midnight, heralding the arrival of the new year at the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila. Sally Alburo delivered Yuri, her second child, while Jenylyn Dalen gave birth to Zamara 10 seconds later. “(The labor) was so painful, but after giving birth to him, the pain I was feeling was gone, replaced by joy,” Alburo said in Filipino in an interview with ABS-CBN News. Next page
FIRST ONES IN FABELLA. Two mothers
rest while holding their newborns at the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital inside the San Lazaro Compound in Santa Cruz, Manila. Sally Alburo, right, 25, from Carmona, Cavite, delivered a baby boy in her second pregnancy, followed just 10 seconds later by Jennifer Dalen, left, 21 also from Cavite, who gave birth to a baby girl in her first pregnancy, marking the first babies born in the hospital in 2026. Robert Oswald P. Alfiler
Mayon Volcano acts up, residents Firecracker injuries down but victims younger—DOH barred from entering 6km zone By Ram Superable and Vince Lopez
By Rex Espiritu THE Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council–Albay Provincial Safety and Emergency Management Office (PDRRMC-APSEMO)
issued a disaster-avoidance advisory after the alert level of Mayon Volcano was raised from Alert Level 1 to Alert Level 2, indicating moderate unrest. To ensure public safety and prevent Next page
FIREWORK-RELATED injuries recorded during the New Year celebrations declined significantly compared with last year, according to a Department of Health advisory released Thursday. The DOH said it logged 235 firework-related injury cases nationwide
from Dec. 21, 2025 to Jan. 1, 2026. Of the total, 62 cases were recorded on New Year’s Day as Filipinos welcomed 2026 with traditional celebrations involving fireworks. The agency said the current tally is 42 percent lower than the 403 cases reported during the same period surrounding the start of 2025. Data
showed that 161 of the 235 victims were 19 years old and below, while the rest were adults. Most injuries were linked to unidentified types of fireworks, as well as boga and 5-Star firecrackers. Despite the decline, health officials cautioned that the number could still increase as Next page
‘Nazareno’ preparations start; visits to Manila barangays begin THE icon of the Black Nazarene will be brought to 15 barangays surrounding Quiapo, Manila over six days starting Thursday, as part of preparations for the annual traslacion. In a social media post on Wednesday,
the Quiapo Church announced the schedule for the barangay visitation 2026, which will take place from Jan. 1 to 6. The activity forms part of the church’s annual devotional events Next page
NEW YEAR GREETINGS. The First Family extends its New Year greetings with a digital card posted in their official FB account.
128 journos killed in 2025, mostly in Middle East By Rex Espiritu A TOTAL of 128 journalists were killed around the world in 2025, more than half of them in the Middle East, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said Thursday.
At the same time, the IFJ said 533 journalists across the globe were currently in prison—a figure that has more than doubled over the past half-decade. This as several media workers and former journalists were killed in sep-
arate incidents across the Philippines in 2025, underscoring persistent concerns over press freedom and the safety of journalists in the country. The grim toll, up from 2024, “is not just a statistic, it’s a global red alert Next page
ACTING UP. Mayon Volcano acts up on the first day of the year, prompting the
Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to raise its alert to level two. FB of Jeffrey James Abogado Mesias